Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2026.01.19
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital

Notable

Canada cuts tariffs on Chinese EVs as a trade for farm products (link). 'Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday....He said there would be an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1%, growing to about 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its total tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.'

Tesla's FSD product away from a onetime fee and will move to subscription-only (link). After Feb 14, the price will be fixed at $99/mo. Polymarket trades: Tesla will launch unsupervised FSD by March 31, 2026 (~ 15% chance); June 30, 2026 (~ 27% chance) (link).

Honda dealers aren't happy with Sony vehicle partnership, chairman of dealer advisory board urges exit from ‘albatross’ (link).

Every vehicle seems to have an off-road equivalent now (link). What if America's next sports car is simply the Ford Raptor?

Ford and BYD reportedly in talks for hybrid battery partnership (link).

Origins of right to repair and the death of tinkering (link). 'We traded the logic of workshop tools for the illusion of frictionless enchantment and planned obsolescence - miracle objects that work until they don’t, then get replaced.'

Visualizing China's naval fleet actions in the East China Sea (link). Via Diego.

Video: Mackinac Island snowmobile commuting (link). Video: Japanese industrial miniature build (link). Via Jakub. Video: GM CEO Mary Barra interview on CBS Evening News (link). Video: Jackie Stewart talks Monaco vehicle dynamics using butter from room service (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Aviation startup JetZero raises $175M (link). Led by B Capital with participation from Trucks, United Airlines Ventures, Northrop Grumman and RTX.

AI chip engine startup Quadric raises $30M (link). Led by Accelerate Fund.

Battery intelligence startup Zitara acquired by Fortescu (link).

Retail software startup Dealerware acquired by Wavecrest Growth Partners and Radian Capital (link).

Sensor startup Luminar has buyer for its LiDAR business at $22M sale (link).

Chinese startup Xpeng reportedly hires bankers for IPO of its VTOL unit in Hong Kong (link).

Space launch startup Auriga Space awarded Phase 1 STTR from US Missile Defense Agency (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Hyundai Motor Group: Park Min-woo named head of autonomous driving division (link).

Rivian: Greg Revelle named chief customer officer (link). Via Patrick.

GE Aerospace: Mohamed Ali promoted to CEO Commercial Engines (link).

Qualcomm: Chris Young to leave board (link).

Curated Jobs:

Business Development – Defense & Space (All Levels) at Auriga Space in Los Angeles, CA USA (link).

Senior Software Product Manager at Aperia in Grand Rapids, MI USA (link).

Hiring? Post a job (link). If you're a startup, use code 'Trucks' for free standard listings.

Hunting? View all 262 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

'Have I Been Flocked?' - has your license plate been tracked by a Flock camera? (link). Via NP.

Amazon is buying America’s first new copper output in more than a decade (link).

Global turbulence map (link).

On a new generation of 'Gen-P' robots: can adapt across tasks with minimal retraining (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application for non-line of sight collision warnings on heads-up display (link).

Statistics / Projections:

Delta’s premium ticket sales grew more than 7% in 2025, while its main cabin ticket sales fell 5% (link). Via Sherwood.

Chinese carmakers exported more than 2.6 million units to overseas markets last year, up 104% cent from a year earlier (link). Via SCMP.

The average new-vehicle MSRP set a record in December at $52,627 (link). Via Cox Auto. 'The average MSRP was 1.2% higher year over year, below the long-term average increase. The average MSRP has been above $50,000 for eight straight months.'

Airport trips represent 15% of global mobility gross bookings (link).

Thank you:

Thank you to Don Manfredi (link), Mariano Menkes (link), John Moavenzadeh (link) and Yvonne Lutsch (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Auriga Space (link), JetZero (link), Quadric (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

All knowledge, the totality of all question and answers, is contained in the dog (Kafka),

Reilly Brennan