Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2026.01.05
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital

Notable

Foreign Affairs: How to secure the sky for drones (link). Via CJ. 'The FAA recorded 411 illegal drone incursions at airports in the first quarter of 2025 alone, an increase of more than 25% over the same period in 2024.'

Someone found Waymo's 'deflection protocol' language hardcoded into chatbot software code (link). We know all companies do this but when you see how it's done it feels terrible. At the end of the day we still want to believe that brands are people, when in reality they are companies trying to make us believe their animatronics.

2025 was the year AVs became lumpy ubiquitous (link). 'But if you live in one of the handful of major cities where Waymo and its rivals operate a driverless car service, 2025 felt like the year robotic taxis became ubiquitous and—apart from a few snafus—reliable.'

Some dealers are still holding 2024 model year inventory (link). Via Henry K. 'No automaker is struggling with excess inventory quite like Stellantis. As of early December, Dodge dealers still held 82.1% of the total 2024 inventory for the Hornet plug-in hybrid. That’s a staggering figure considering the industry average for remaining 2024 inventory is just 0.4%.'

London is set to become the first city where both US and Chinese AV operate, as Waymo and Baidu prepare to launch their robotaxis in the city in 2026 (link).

How Airbus took off, despite its unusual origins (link). 'Airbus is the rare success story. European governments pooled resources and subsidized their champion aggressively to face down a titan of American capitalism in a strategically vital sector. Why did Airbus succeed when so many similar initiatives crashed and burned?'

Video: closeup view of flexible air refueling rig (link). Video: why the Ford Jeep is the greatest vehicle ever made (link). Video: Harry Metcalf's 2025 garage running cost video, always one of my favorites (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Parking app SpotHero reportedly an acquisition target by Uber (link). SpotHero has an estimated 10 million users in the US.

Bugatti reportedly looking to fully buy out Porsche's equity stake through outside investors (link). 'Reportedly, HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital would buy out Porsche's shares in Bugatti in addition to taking over Porsche's investments in Rimac. Those familiar with the deal told Bloomberg that it is allegedly valued at $1.2 billion.'

Digital retail titling startup Champ Titles raises $55M (link). Led by W. R. Berkley Corporation, Point72 Ventures, and ORIX Corporation USA.

VinFast shutters several US stores despite expansion pledges (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Porsche: Michael Leiters starts as new CEO, replacing Oliver Blume (link).

Allison Transmission: After acquisition of Dana's off-highway business, Craig Price to lead Allison Off-Highway Drive & Motion Systems; Allison Transmission will be led by Fred Bohley (link).

Blue Bird: Phil Horlock resigns from board (link).

LiveWire: Luke Mansfield resigns from board (link).

Autoliv: Fredrik Westin to resign as CFO effective March 31 (link).

Curated Jobs:

Procurement Buyer at Xona Space Systems in Burlingame, CA, USA (link).

AI Kernel Engineer at Quadric in Burlingame, CA, USA and Hybrid (link).

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

Hunting? View all 252 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

GM reportedly looks to consolidate California offices to one 400k sq foot facility (link). Via Johnny. 'If completed, GM’s footprint would shrink to about 400,000 square feet in one location from more than 1 million square feet between eight to 10 properties. The six-building Tech Corners office complex in Sunnyvale is reportedly a top choice for the car manufacturer, which welcomed Walmart’s e-commerce division as a tenant earlier this year.

Buyers of new made-in-USA cars qualify trump tax perk, IRS says (link). 'Of the 25 most popular new car models sold domestically in 2024, 14 underwent final assembly solely in the US. Those include the Ford F-series trucks, the most popular new model sold in 2024, as well as the Chevy Silverado, Tesla Model Y, Ram pickup truck, GMC Sierra and the Toyota Camry, according to the analysis from the Bipartisan Policy Center.'

With mobile payments taking over, purchases of NYC's Metrocard ended on Dec 31 (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows vehicle lane change by a change of eye gaze (link).

Ford's patent application shows how different electronic devices can have vehicle access tokens (link). Spreading 'car keys' widely as a concept.

Statistics / Projections:

With BYD sales up 28%, the Chinese OEM becomes the global EV sales leader; Tesla deliveries fall 9% in 2025 (link). Via Nikkei.

Rivian sales dropped 18% in 2025 from 2024 (link). Via Rivian.

Car payments now average more than $750 a month (link). Via WSJ.

Hybrid and electric car sales now 25% of US new car sales (link). Via Bloomberg. 'CarGurus calls hybrids the success story of 2025. Indeed, the fastest-selling car in the country this year has been the Hyundai Palisade Hybrid; it sat on lots for fewer than 14 days on average.'

The electric vehicle transition and vanishing fuel tax revenues: Global public revenues from fuel taxes is nearly $1T (link). Via Nature.

Thank you:

Thank you to Adam Grosser (link) and Haley Prout (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Quadric (link), Xona Space Systems (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

Believe that a further shore is reachable from here (Seamus Heaney),

Reilly Brennan