🚢 Mobility Futures #4

HolonIQ's mobility futures coverage for the week ahead.

Our Climate Tech coverage has grown significantly and due to popular demand, we're splitting out our coverage into weekly Energy Futures, Enviro Futures, Infra Futures and Mobility Futures newsletters over the coming weeks.

This newsletter is 'Mobility Futures,' you can update your subscriptions to any of the other weekly newsletters here.

Happy Monday 👋

EV battery costs have plummeted by 90% since 2008, with further reductions anticipated, and US new vehicle inventory growth stalled in August. Chinese automaker Dongfeng is eyeing Italy for a new European production hub amidst efforts to circumvent tariffs. Milan is set to see flying taxis by 2027, with a new venture developing vertiports for eVTOL aircraft. Alstom started delivering new cars for Singapore's Bukit Panjang LRT line as part of a fleet upgrade. Meanwhile, the LN2000, a liquid nitrogen-powered car, claims to be a potent zero-emission alternative to electric and hydrogen vehicles. Ola Electric's $734M IPO was oversubscribed, though its valuation has since dropped by 25%. Lucid Motors secured a $1.5B investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, boosting its Q2 revenue beyond expectations.

🚘 Ground Mobility

⚡ Dramatic Drop in EV Battery Costs. EV battery costs have declined 90% since 2008, as reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Industry analysts expect additional cost reductions in light of market changes.

⚠️ Slowdown in New Vehicle Inventory Growth. Cloud Theory, a company providing real-time data insights for the automotive industry, reported that new vehicle inventory growth stalled in August.

🚗 Chinese Automaker Dongfeng Eyes Italy for European Production Hub. Dongfeng, a Chinese automaker, is reportedly in pole position to build an automobile production plant in Italy. The Italian government could potentially take a minority stake in the investment to establish a manufacturing hub for the European market.

🛬 Aviation

🔋 Battery Giant CATL Invests in eVTOL Startup AutoFlight. CATL, a primary battery company, announced a strategic partnership with AutoFlight, an eVTOL vehicle developer, with a significant investment.

✈️ Flying Taxis are expected to arrive in Milan by 2027. A joint venture plans to establish a company to develop a network of vertiports for eVTOL aircraft in the Lombardy region of Italy.

🚋 Rail

🚆 Major Rail Expansion Plan for Ireland. A review of Ireland's rail strategy was completed, with 32 recommendations to improve and expand the rail network through projects worth an estimated $40B.

🚄 Fleet Renewal for Singapore LRT Line. Alstom has delivered the first two of 19 new rubber-tired people mover cars for the Bukit Panjang LRT line in Singapore as part of a fleet renewal program.

🚆 Scotland's Railway Unveils Climate Action Plan. Network Rail and ScotRail, under Scotland's Railway partnership, published a five-year Climate Action Plan for 2024-2029 to address climate change.

🚢 Water Mobility

⚓️ Shipping Industry Anticipates High Demand for Hydrogen Carriers. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) released a report forecasting that over 400 hydrogen carriers will be required to transport hydrogen fuel globally to meet the needs of heavy industries.

🛬 Propulsion

🚗 Revolutionary Liquid Nitrogen Car Challenges Electric Vehicles. A company developed a new liquid nitrogen-powered car called the LN2000 as a zero-emission alternative to electric vehicles and hydrogen engines, claiming it is 700 times more potent than hydrogen engines.

🛵 Suzuki Unveils New Hydrogen-Powered Scooter Patent. The Japanese automaker Suzuki filed a patent application detailing its upcoming hydrogen-powered scooter.

⚓ MAN Engines Unveils Powerful New Marine Engine. MAN Engines, a leading manufacturer of marine engines, introduced a new and more powerful V12 workboat engine called the D3872 at the upcoming SMM 2024 trade fair.

💰 Deals of the Week

💰 Lucid Motors Secures $1.5B Investment from Saudi Arabia. Lucid Motors (LCID), an EV company, received an additional $1.5B investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, helping it exceed Wall Street's Q2 revenue estimates.

📈 Ola Electric, with a $734M IPO—the largest in India for 2024 and oversubscribed by 35% on its first day—saw its valuation drop 25% to $4 billion since its previous funding round.

🚗 Aurora Raises Nearly $500M for Self-Driving Tech. Aurora, a company developing self-driving vehicle technology, raised nearly $500M in additional funding. Other self-driving tech firms like Cruise and Waymo also secured major investments recently.

🚀 Xpeng's Flying Car Unit Secures $150M Funding, Targets Q4 Pre-Orders. Xpeng Aeroht, the electric flying car unit of Xpeng, raised $150M to finance its development and commercialization of a modular flying car.

🚀 H3X Raises $20M to Advance Electric Aerospace Technology. H3X, an electric aerospace company, raised $20M in new funding to scale up its operations and develop its technology.

🚚 Infinium Logistics Expands with Site Acquisitions. Infinium Logistics, a logistics company, acquired two sites in West Thurrock for around $16.5M to build an electrified fleet hub.

🤝 Bestpass-Fleetworthy Solutions Acquires Drivewyze to Create Comprehensive Solutions. Bestpass-Fleetworthy Solutions, a leader in toll management, safety, and compliance solutions, acquired Drivewyze to create the industry's only suite for safety, compliance, and efficiency.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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