Shared Mobility & Policy get along in Brazil, more choice for e-mobility & more
Welcome to the weekly news roundup by Splyt, the place where you can find the most important news in the Urban Mobility space. This week, we have divided the headlines into general topics. We hope you enjoy the read!
M&A and Investments
Similarly to the deal between Sixt and BWM, Europcar has now sold its 25% stake in car2Go to Daimler. Rumour has it that the two German automakers will merge their carsharing units, DriveNow and car2Go. Fully owning the firms could definitely signal preparations for this merger.
The Indian ride-hailing company Ola, is said to be in talks with Temasek (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund) to raise up to $1 billion dollars. Would a Temasek investment signal possible collaboration between Singapore’s Grab and Ola?
On the other hand, Indonesia’s Go-Jek has announced plans to go public in Indonesia. Without specific details on the IPO, Go-Jek’s president Soelistyo mentioned after meeting with Indonesia’s Stock Exchange:
“We discussed what technology companies need to do and how the exchange can provide access”.
Policy
Brazil’s lower house of congress has approved a lighter regulation to ride-hailing companies in the country. Drivers for services like Uber and Cabify will be able to legally operate without official taxi license plates. You can call this a win for ride-hailing companies and perhaps this will call for more competition in the country.
Emerging technologies
Smart Cambridge has gotten an investment of £3.2 million to deploy autonomous buses as an extension to regular bus services. They will be built by UK-based, Aurrigo and are said to start tests in late 2019 while carrying passengers as early as 2020.
And if the competition was not fierce enough in the autonomous driving front, Toyota invests $2.8 billion in a Tokyo-based self driving car company.
e-mobility
US-based Harley Davidson is working together with Alta motors to develop a new electric bike. The iconic brand’s first e-bike is mean to come out next year. Harley-Davidson President and CEO Matt Levatich commented:
“Earlier this year, as part of our 10-year strategy, we reiterated our commitment to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders, in part, by aggressively investing in electric vehicle technology,”
Another company launching its first EV is the British automaker Jaguar. The much anticipated i-Pace will make Jaguar a direct competitor to Tesla. The EV’s price will start at £58,995.
And last but not least, LimeBike introduces scooters and e-bikes in Europe. LimeBike becomes now the first bikes-haring company with a multimodal fleet.
“We are here to help cities, businesses and universities to solve their first and last mile transportation challenges,” — Caen Contee, founding member and VP Marketing, Partnerships, & International Expansion at LimeBike.
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