June - 2017

The On-Demand or Gig economy

For many people working in what has been dubbed the “on-demand” or “gig” economy, having flexible access to a car — especially for rideshare or drivers who deliver food and other items — can be essential to their livelihood. And as more Americans work a mix of jobs, the auto industry is rising to meet the demand for new services. New ways to get wheels One of the recent entries is a rental service from General Motors called Maven Gig, which is available in San Diego and San F

Daimler’s car2go Says ‘Future of Carsharing is Electric’

Daimler’s carsharing company car2go says it now has 300,000 customers at three purely electric locations who regularly drive 1,400 electric vehicles – adding that its customers have already driven a total of 57.3 million purely electric kilometers. “We are convinced that the future of carsharing is electric,” says Olivier Reppert, CEO of car2go. car2go says it has been investing in electromobility for six years and has obtained experience and knowledge of setting up and runni

Uber Users Can Now 'Request a Ride for a Loved One'

Finally! Uber yesterday introduced a new ride-hailing feature in its mobile app that lets users request a ride for a friend or family member in a different location. Uber announced the news in a blog post on its website, suggesting the feature would let users "request a ride for a loved one" such as a senior with limited mobility who doesn't have an Uber account or a smartphone. "Now, when you set the pickup away from your current location, we'll automatically ask whether t

Ride Hailing And Car Sharing Could Reduce Auto Sales By 436 Million Units

Car sharing or ride hailing is set to become a huge industry during the next two decades. Disruption has become the investors’ worst enemy over the past few years. Thanks to advances in technology, disruptive technologies are now gaining traction faster than ever, and venture capitalists are throwing money at start-ups, which is only accelerating the trend. Almost no industry is immune from disruption and the bottomless pockets of seed investors. The auto industry, which has

Apple is leasing six cars from Hertz for autonomous software testing

Hertz shares climbed on Monday afternoon after news that Apple will work with Hertz on a small group of self-driving vehicles. Sources familiar with the situation told CNBC that Apple is leasing six cars from a Hertz subsidiary for autonomous software testing. The cars are Lexus SUVs, according to Bloomberg, which previously reported the news. Hertz shares spiked more than 13 percent at the close. Shares of Hertz also saw a small pop earlier in the day, after Alphabet and Avi

Avis signs on to manage Waymo’s self-driving vehicle fleet in Phoenix

Waymo has entered into an agreement with rental car company Avis that will see Avis manage its autonomous vehicle fleet in Phoenix. Phoenix is the site of Waymo’s first commercial self-driving car service, with the Alphabet-owned company launching an on-demand ride pilot in the Arizona city earlier this year. The agreement, first reported by Bloomberg, will see Avis service and house Waymo’s fleet of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans in Phoenix. Waymo still owns the car

Consortium invests €10 million in car sharing service Snappcar

Along with AutoBinck and founders, Europcar has invested €10 million in Snappcar, an app which allows its users to share their car with other network members. The financial injection should help Snappcar in achieving its goal of reducing the number of cars in European cities by 5 million within the next five years. For the Europcar Group, Snappcar is a welcome addition to its expanding portfolio of mobility solutions. Snappcar, a Dutch company which was founded in 2011 in the

The End of Car Ownership?

Ride sharing and self-driving vehicles will redefine our relationship with cars. Auto makers and startups are already gearing up for the change. Cars are going to undergo a lot of changes in the coming years. One of the biggest: You probably won’t own one. Thanks to ride sharing and the looming introduction of self-driving vehicles, the entire model of car ownership is being upended—and very soon may not look anything like it has for the past century. Drivers, for instance, m

Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

Travis Kalanick stepped down Tuesday as chief executive of Uber, the ride-hailing service that he helped found in 2009 and built into a transportation colossus, after a shareholder revolt made it untenable for him to stay on at the company. Mr. Kalanick’s exit came under pressure after hours of drama involving Uber’s investors, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous because the details were confidential. Earlier on Tuesday, five

GM says it's ready to mass produce self-driving cars

LAKE ORION, Mich. — General Motors said Tuesday it has finished making 130 self-driving Chevrolet Bolt test vehicles, an achievement that the automaker says will help put it at the forefront of the race to develop and deploy autonomous cars. CEO and Chairman Mary Barra said GM is the only automaker currently capable of mass-producing self-driving vehicles. "The autonomous vehicles you see here today are purpose-built, self-driving test vehicles," Barra said before several hun