Industry

Lyft Inc. reported fewer riders than expected in the fourth quarter as omicron damped travel, sending the shares down about 7 percent in extended trading. But the riders that did hop in a Lyft generated higher revenue, due to a shortage of drivers and trips that were longer and had higher fares. “We have great

Uber Technologies Inc. outlined its strategy for growth and new business opportunities during its first investor day as a public company, after teasing news on a global car-sharing network and improved algorithms to keep costs low. Uber on Thursday said it expects $5 billion of adjusted earnings by fiscal 2024, signaling that the ride-hailing giant’s

Reuters Two of the world’s biggest carmakers, Ford and Toyota, say production is being disrupted by trucker protests in Canada. Plants have been forced to shut because car parts are being held up at two US border points blocked by truckers protesting against a vaccine mandate. Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, called it an illegal

Uber Technologies Inc. plans to outline its strategy for growth and new business opportunities when it holds its first investor day as a public company on Thursday, after teasing news on a global car-sharing network and improved algorithms to keep costs low. Company executives during a fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday said they would provide

When will consumers be able to own vehicles that allow them to be disengaged from the driving process and fully rely on automated systems to get them where they need to go? Some industry experts and consumers feel that concept is a “Jetsons”-style dream, while others believe it will be reality sooner rather than later.

Here are some of the technologies that are extending the life of the internal combustion engine by making it more efficient.Displacement on demand: Shuts down unneeded cylinders once a vehicle reaches highway speeds. Variable compression ratio: Enables an engine to run more efficiently based on speed and load. Nissan is the only manufacturer to offer

Not only are the ways vehicles are powered and driven changing rapidly, but how drivers and passengers interact with them is certain to change in the coming years. From technology that can monitor the health of drivers and passengers to augmented reality displays, automakers, suppliers and tech companies have signaled that the car of the

In most parts of the world, electric vehicle sales are little more than a trickle right now. Sure, Norway stands in a class of its own — 65 percent of vehicles sold there in 2021 were fully electric — but in other regions, that percentage is more likely to be the low single digits. Even

COVID-19 dealt the nascent micromobility movement a stunning blow just as the industry was accelerating. In 2019, McKinsey & Co. consultants predicted that micromobility would be a $300 billion to $500 billion market by 2030. The number of journeys made on e-scooters in the U.S., for instance, had more than doubled to 86 million in

WASHINGTON — The safety benefits of deploying more autonomous vehicles on U.S. roads must be weighed against their potential risks, a U.S. House panel said last week. While AVs have the potential to curb the “startling rise” in U.S. traffic deaths, “we must ensure that these technologies are held to the highest possible safety standards,”

A friend of mine who works in powertrain at Ford told me recently the company has just one more new engine coming. And that’s it. Ford, like most other automakers, is shifting its powertrain lineup from gasoline and diesel engines to electric motors in the coming years. Ford has greatly reduced the number of engineers

The RV industry is starting to join the race toward zero emissions. Thor Industries Inc. and Winne-bago Industries Inc. each revealed concepts for electric RVs at the Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa last month. The companies identify electrification as a priority for the next generation of motor homes and towable trailers. Thor told Shift that

DETROIT — Google is latching onto the mobility tech hub Ford Motor Co. is developing at Detroit’s long-abandoned train station in Corktown. The tech giant and the automaker are set to announce Friday that Google will provide its cloud-based technological services at Michigan Central, the new name for Ford’s mobility innovation campus centered on the

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is creating a new subsidiary to market and manage its mobility tech hub in downtown Detroit to make the innovation district Ford “agnostic,” a company executive told Crain’s Detroit Business, an affilaite of Automotive News. Ford has formed Michigan Central Innovation District LLC, which will manage how the Ford-owned Michigan

DETROIT — As Lincoln Motor Co. celebrates a century of ownership under Ford Motor Co., the luxury brand is preparing this year to show its first battery-electric vehicle. Lincoln last year announced plans to launch four new EVs by 2030. Automotive News has reported the first will be an electric Aviator crossover, although output has

Google is latching onto the mobility tech hub Ford Motor Co. is developing at Detroit’s long-abandoned train station in Corktown. The Mountain View, Calif.-based tech giant and Dearborn-based global automaker are set to announce Friday that Google will provide its cloud-based technological services at Michigan Central, the new name for Ford’s mobility innovation campus centered

The abrupt resignation of the two top executives at Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. could spell “dark days” ahead for the newly public Troy-based electric vehicle company. CEO James Taylor and Chairman Jason Luo, each co-founders of the electric commercial vehicles maker, stepped down after the company’s board determined they bought company equity without obtaining

In what’s believed to be a first-of-its-kind partnership, self-driving truck company TuSimple said Wednesday it will soon work with Union Pacific Railroad to haul freight on a major route in Arizona. TuSimple this spring plans to carry goods for Union Pacific, the largest U.S. railroad, in trucks operating without humans aboard. Trucking and rail typically

WASHINGTON — Officials from groups representing the autonomous vehicle industry, as well as highway safety advocates and union workers, are urging Congress to act on legislation for self-driving cars and trucks. The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit will hear testimony Wednesday from self-driving startup Aurora, Advocates for Highway and

The Society of Automotive Analysts holds its annual Outlook conference each January to look ahead at the new year. Does the start of a third year of a pandemic and a second year of the microchip shortage have you feeling overwhelmed? You wouldn’t be alone. Perhaps data and clear-thinking analysis can inspire a sense of

Getty Images Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) lost £9m ($12m) in the last three months of 2021 amid the global computer chip shortage. The UK car maker saw its retail sales fall 37.6% compared to a year earlier, as it produced just 80,126 vehicles in the quarter to the end of December. Despite that fall in

Ford Motor Co.’s recent bets on the future of the automotive industry it helped define say a lot about where Michigan policymakers should be placing their next economic bets. The automaker credited with putting the world on wheels is investing nearly $1 billion to transform Detroit’s oldest neighborhood into an auto tech hub for 5,000

Both on the ground and in the air, autonomous taxis remain an enticing prospect for financial investment. Two autonomous-vehicle companies revealed substantial funding last week, with Toyota-backed May Mobility raising $83 million in a series C round that keeps the startup on pace to begin “driver-out” operations in 2023. It will take a little longer

RUTHERFORD, Calif. — Gasoline-powered vehicles are banned inside Inglenook Winery’s vast Infinity Caves, which can be good for the quality of its most popular varietals but problematic for workers trying to move heavy equipment, like the massive stainless-steel fermenting tanks. Among the estate’s 235 acres of grapevines, employees often lug cumbersome generators to keep saws

The proliferation of electric vehicles and charging stations in the coming years could alter the relationship between drivers and where they park. Paul Vosper, CEO of EV charger manufacturer JuiceBar, said that as the vehicle charging network becomes more robust, it creates the potential for a new “vehicle-to-building” system, meaning that while an electric vehicle

General Motors CEO Mary Barra says her first ride in a completely driverless car was “nothing short of incredible.” For GM President Mark Reuss, the experience was “mind-blowing.” A video posted Thursday by Cruise, the self-driving vehicle company that’s majority-owned by GM, shows the executives trying out autonomous technology for the first time with no

SEBASTOPOL, Calif. — Ford Motor Co. has booked 10,000 orders for the 2022 E-Transit electric van from about 300 commercial and government customers, including retail giant Walmart. Ford will soon begin customer deliveries of the electric vehicle, which starts at $44,900 including shipping and comes in eight configurations. The automaker until now had not disclosed

Getty Images Car production in the UK last year fell to its lowest level since 1956, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The SMMT said the figures were dismal, largely thanks to a global microchip shortage and disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It said there was optimism for the

General Motors said on Wednesday it would hire more than 8,000 new technical staff this year, as the U.S. automaker accelerates its development of electric vehicles and software-driven services. The automaker hired about 3,000 tech people in 2021. GM said it is expanding teams that electrify cars, develop vehicle software and autonomous technology and engineer

Reuters Tesla sales will grow by more than 50% in 2022 compared with last year despite supply chain problems, chief executive Elon Musk has said. The electric carmaker recorded a record $5.5bn (£4bn) earnings last year. Sales at the firm rocketed 71% to $53.8bn in 2021, as it delivered more than 936,000 vehicles to customers.