Cityshuttle’s ePack4: Pushing the envelope for last mile delivery market | June 16th, 2023

Plus, Porsche introduced its all-electric concept car the Mission X, Walberg Urban Electrics rolled out a limited edition e-scooter, and Segway revealed new ChargeLock Stations

Issue [#192] - Every week, we deliver analysis and curation of emerging mobility news - post a job listing here!

Micromobility

Iza Trengove and her friend Christa are not regular cyclists. However, a five-day cycling trip in the Addo Elephant Park in April 2023 changed her life and forever broadened her perspective toward e-bikes. For her, the fascinating part of the journey was the sheer feeling of comfort while enjoying nature and the evenings when the group sat together under a sky lit with stars and shared their experiences. Some of them were regular cyclists, some of them explored countries on their e-bikes, and some were owners of cycling stores. So, an e-bike might be the next cathartic element to get you out of the dreary daily grind! / Daily Maverick

The American Lung Association highlighted the significance of a nationwide switch to electric vehicles and clean energy in improving the overall health of people in a recent report. According to the report, 89,300 premature deaths and 2.2 million asthma attacks can be prevented by 2050. Although there are no limitations to health benefits in such an ideal scenario, it can only be achieved if the US sells only emissions-free passenger vehicles by 2035, which seems unlikely under the present policies / The Verge

Once banned from the streets of the USA, shared bikes and scooters are slowly reviving, thanks to many US cities taking back their disputable decision to limit these modes. Moreover, in light of the discussion about the origin of the reasons why this micromobility segment was restricted, it was revealed that rather than enacting progressive safety policies, like installing protected lanes or geofencing pedestrian areas, the mode was banned entirely. Meanwhile, this rollback will be a positive development for the workforce who relied heavily on this reliable, accessible, and affordable mode of mobility in the past / Streetblogs USA

Product Launches & Updates

While America is being reigned over by giant rugged trucks like Ford's F-150 and Ram, a new American EV company, Telo, is hitting the road towards building small, modular, electric trucks. Despite being small-built, the Telo truck promises features like a top speed of 125mph, a 106kWh battery, a range of 350 miles, a seating accommodation for five, and more. It could potentially be the tiny pickup truck many Americans need in their lives! / The Verge

On June 8, Porsche unveiled the Mission X, an all-electric concept car described as a "conceptual reinterpretation" of the hypercar. It resembles the Porsche 918 Spyder in its squat, flattened structure with bubbly fenders but distinguishes itself from the former through its chunky corner details. No different than a scarab beetle with open doors, its interior will give you some 80s sports car vibes! Moreover, the company claims it would be based on a 900-volt system architecture and will be the fastest road-legal vehicle around the Nürburgring Nordschleife / The Verge

With the concept of making a sustainable motorbike that resembles both bikes and motorbikes, two German brothers, Nicolaus and Casper Nagel, set out on a journey and founded Pave Motors. After spending years perfecting their concept, which is not only a sustainable motorbike but also lightweight and fun to ride, they exhibited their debut model, the Pave BK. The two-wheelers are guaranteed to catch everyone's eye with their elegant curves and cutting-edge design thanks to its two e-bike models with peak speeds of 30 and 40 mph and a 50-mile range / Brooklyn Paper

Walberg Urban Electrics is celebrating its 20th anniversary by rolling out a limited edition Egret e-scooter. The Hamburg-based manufacturer's flagship model, the Egret One, boasts various distinctive features, including its 11-inch F1-inspired tires and braking system with a seven times larger brake pad surface, among many others / ZAGDaily

In an effort to improve the industry's bad reputation for safety, British firm Hilo, co-founded by Andy Palmer, the former CEO of Aston Martin and sometimes referred to as the "godfather" of EVs, has released a new e-scooter packed with cutting-edge safety measures. Equipped with the same collision warning technology as cars, the Hilo One e-scooter leverages AI to warn users of imminent threats through sensory, auditory, and visual input in the handlebars / The Next Web

Ridehailing, Carsharing & Delivery

For Keith Jones, the CEO of Cityshuttle, the journey toward the world of e-shuttles started with developing a foldable ramp for the boot of his brother's car in 1992. Now, his company has set its sights on launching its futuristic e-cargo bike, ePack4, in 2023, which simultaneously focuses on providing comfort, versatility, and power. With a 4,000-litre parcel capacity, torque sensors, a sustainable model for its operators, and a comfortable seating position, this e-cargo bike is well on its way to becoming a safer, more viable, and more efficient last-mile delivery option on the market! / ZAGDaily

Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) brought some glad tidings for New York City gig delivery workers during their press release on June 11th. According to the announcement, the new minimum wage is increased from $7.09 per hour to $17.96 per hour for food delivery workers, rising to $19.96 on April 1st, 2025. While a victory for the gig workers, this development has urged DoorDash to prepare to take possible legal action in response / The Verge

Robotaxis are again the center of unease after a Cruise self-driving vehicle seemed to impede first responders as they attempted to enter the site of a mass shooting in San Francisco's Mission District on June 9th at night. While this incident raised concerns regarding the robotaxis' capacity to safely provide rides across the city, Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company, refutes the accusations. Cruise and its competitor Waymo are currently requesting authorization to run a 24-hour robotaxi service around San Francisco / The Guardian

Investment & Deals

The Scottish government has announced a £20 million investment in active travel infrastructure for 2023/24. The Active Travel Transformation Fund will provide the funds to local authorities, regional transport partnerships, and national park authorities in collaboration with Transport Scotland. The goal is to enhance walking, cycling, and wheeling for everyday transportation. The Scottish government aims to allocate at least £320 million or 10% of the transport budget to active travel by 2024/25 / Intelligent Transport

Everest Fleet, a Mumbai-based fleet management company, recently received a $20 million investment led by Uber. The funds will be used to speed up the company's transition to electric vehicles, with the aim of having 10,000 EVs in its fleet by 2026. Uber has been increasingly working with fleet management companies like Everest to provide its drivers with vehicle access / TechCrunch

Rivian is set to lose its position on the Nasdaq-100 index on June 20, 2023. This comes after the company's stock price fell over 90% from its all-time high, which was achieved shortly after it went public. The Nasdaq-100 index is a stock market index that tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the exchange / Electrek

With €33 million in series B funding, Trucksters kicks into high gear. Its goal is to become Europe's first all-electric long-haul carrier / Tech.eu

The world's top human-machine collaboration technology will be developed by FERNRIDE, a leading German autonomous, electric trucking firm, with $31 million in Series A funding to speed up the shift to automated and sustainable logistics / Fenride

The company that manufactures batteries, Energy, has raised £1.5 million to speed up the adoption of The Voltt, which lowers the cost of designing new battery solutions through virtual prototyping / The Engineer

Cities & Policy

A group of young car thieves, known as the Kia Boys, have been responsible for stealing a large number of Hyundai and Kia vehicles. They often share videos of their exploits on social media platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. The increase in thefts of these particular car brands is due to a design flaw that has been exploited by the thieves. In response to this issue, Hyundai and Kia recently agreed to pay a settlement of $200 million / The Verge

A'skunkworks'-style R&D initiative for infrastructure, known as ARPA-I, is the subject of a funding request from the administration of Joe Biden. In order to design things "we can't even imagine today," according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg / The Verge

A proposed ban on e-bikes on Ocean City's Boardwalk has been postponed by the City Council. Instead of making an immediate decision, Councilman Terry Crowley Jr. has suggested that a committee be formed to further study the issue. The ban was initially proposed by Mayor Jay Gillian in response to concerns about reckless e-bike usage and its potential danger to pedestrians on the Boardwalk / Ocean City Sentinel

New Products, Features, and Data Points

Ryan Quint, an expert on the U.S. electric grid, is urgently seeking auto engineers to address a bug in some electric vehicles that could cause catastrophic blackouts. However, he is having difficulty finding the right experts due to the lack of communication between the auto and electricity industries. The increasing popularity of EVs is forcing these industries to work together more closely than ever before / Energy Wire

Segway has unveiled its new ChargeLock Station, which combines charging and locking functions into a single connector cable. Developed in partnership with Metro Mobility, the station features a patent-pending cable design. Simply plugging the ChargeLock cable into one of Segway's shared vehicles will end the rental, lock the vehicle to the station, and begin charging / ZAGDaily

Polestar has disclosed the pricing and availability details for the 2024 Polestar 2 in the United States. The latest version of the vehicle boasts notable enhancements in its power and range capabilities, as well as updates to its exterior design and interior features / TechCrunch

According to recent reports, Tesla's Autopilot driver-assistance system has been involved in a significantly higher number of crashes than previously disclosed. The shocking toll includes 17 fatalities and 736 crashes / Washington Post

The high-end electric vehicle upstart Nio, one of China's domestic Tesla rivals, has reduced the cost of all of its models by 30,000 yuan ($4,200) / TechCrunch

Jobs Board

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Director of Partnerships & Development at Open Mobility Foundation – Remote, US

SMART Collaborative Program Manager (Contract) at Open Mobility Foundation – Remote, US

Tech Development Specialist (Contract) at Open Mobility Foundation – Remote, US

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