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I haven't met John Jennings long after she had cemented her status as an automotive journalism icon. At that time, Jennings (formerly Lindamood) was editor of Car and Driver and had helped found Automobile Magazine. – of which she would eventually become editor – and launched a website called Jean Knows Cars. Jennings died on December 16 at age 70 after living with Alzheimer's disease.
To say she was well known in the industry is an understatement. To give you an idea of its impact, Ford CEO Jim Farley and Chairman Bill Ford released an official statement upon his death, and Stellantis designer Ralph Gilles and many others in the industry posted their own memorials in Jean's honor on social media.
And for good reason. Jennings lived and breathed cars, first as a mechanic, then as a journalist and editor. His articles and travels are part of automobile history. I was dipping my toes in the automotive press pond when it was coming out, but I still knew of Jennings. It wasn't just his writing, which was witty and delightful. It was the whole energy, which sometimes made her a central character in other articles, like that of Brock Yates. Torture test of a 1983 Baja Mexico sedan article in C&D.
Of course, once we met her (which I was lucky enough to do), there was no forgetting her. Jean, hats off to you.
And before moving on to the rest of the news, check out TechCrunch 51 most disruptive startups of 2024 to learn about some interesting technologies and companies outside of transportation.
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A little bird
Do you have any advice to give us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comSean O'Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.comor Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or consult these instructions for instructions on how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Offers!
THE Biden administration is rushing to approve a number of initiatives before President-elect Donald Trump takes over, including clean energy loans. Recent recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) loans include StarPlus Energy (a battery joint venture of Stellantis and Samsung) and Rivien.
This week, it was the turn of electric vehicle charging startup EVgo.
The DOE approved a $1.25 billion loan to EVgo to help the startup install 7,500 public chargers at 1,100 charging stations across the United States over the next five years. The first deployments will include 350 kW DC fast charging equipment, capable of charging two cars at once.
Other offers that caught my attention…
Bikmoa British startup that offers insurance for bicycles and cyclists, raised £4.75 million ($5.9 million) in a round led by Puma Growth Partners.
Honda And Nissan are reportedly in merger talks. If all of this comes to fruition, the merger, which could also include Mitsubishi, would create the world's third-largest automaker. The intrigue around the potential deal became even more interesting when Bloomberg reported that discussions accelerated after Foxconn, the Taiwan-based iPhone producer, contacted Nissan to acquire a stake in the company.
Nanoramicsan advanced battery technology startup based in Boston, raised $44 million in a round co-led by General Motors Ventures and Catalus Capital, with participation from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Top Material and existing investors including Fortistar Capital and WindSail Capital Group.
Orkaa Croatian developer of advanced autonomous drone systems, 5.8 million euros raised ($6 million) in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Radius Capital, Decisive Point and existing investor Day One Capital.
Sliding robotics raised $28 million in a Series B funding round led by DCVC and with participation from existing investors Eve Atlas, Tech Square Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Overline and Pathbreaker Ventures. James Hardiman of DCVC has joined the board of directors.
Vaeridiona German aviation startup developing an electric aircraft for short-haul commercial flights, has raised a €14 million Series A funding round led by World Fund, with participation from Project A Ventures, Vsquared Ventures, Andreas Kupke, Schwarz Holding and InnovationQuarter.
ZingbusIndian intercity bus service, raised $9 million from BP Ventures in a Series A funding round.
Notable readings and other information
Autonomous vehicles
Waymo continues to establish itself in spaces where its previous competitors were considering establishing themselves. Latest example: Waymo brings its robotaxi to Tokyo in 2025 with the GO taxi application and the taxi company Nihon Kotsu as part of its Japanese “road trip”. History lesson: Cruise planned to operate in Japan in 2026 through a partnership with Honda.
Waymo may dominate, but its robotaxis still have challenges ahead. One recently I got caught in a roundabout.
Reuters got its hands on a document from the Trump transition team that shows deep interest in ending a federal rule that requires car manufacturers to report accidents when advanced driver assistance or autonomous driving technology is activated. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long opposed the federal accident reporting rule. The timing of this is remarkable. If successful, federal safety agencies would lose the ability to investigate and regulate the safety of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems, just as automation is increasing on public roads.
Drama at YouSimple continues. This time, co-founder and former CEO Xiaodi Hou pushes shareholders to change table and replace it with new members who would support the liquidation of the company.
Zoox hired Zheng Gao as director of hardware engineering. Zheng was most recently at Tesla, where he spent eight years and was the head of Tesla's Autopilot hardware engineering team. Before Tesla, Zheng worked at Apple for nine years.
Electric vehicles, charging and batteries
Canou East to hurt for money. The EV startup has idled its factory and put its workers out of work as it seeks emergency funding.
THE Environmental Protection Agency (still under the Biden administration) will allow California to ban most sales new gasoline and diesel cars and light trucks starting in 2035. Keep in mind, however, that this trend will certainly be reversed by the new Trump administration.
Ram delayed his electric truck until 2026 and will instead put the extended-range truck known as the Ramcharger at the front of the queue. Lagging demand for electric vehicles is behind this decision.
Tesla brings back Free overfeeding to customers purchasing a new Model S. But that seems to be a bit of a shell game, since Tesla also raised the price of the Model S by $5,000.
Embedded technology
Rivien has released a new software update for its vehicles that brings some long-awaited apps to its in-car experience, including YouTube, Google Cast and SiriusXM (with a subscription).
Other random transpo news!
Kakao Mobilitythe ride-sharing unit of Korean technology company Kakao, was fined $10.5 million (KRW 15.1 billion) for limiting competitors' access to its taxi app.
The alphabet Wing extends its partnership with DoorDash to offer drone delivery to customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
This week's wheels
TechCrunch journalist Rebecca Bellan spent time in the 2025 Pure lucid air – twice! You can read the whole review here. But for those who want the essentials, here it is.
The Lucid Air Pure 2025 is dreamy, sexy and luxurious – and has decent tech to boot – even though it's the cheapest version in the electric vehicle maker's current lineup. As Bellan wrote: “I felt chic and savvy while driving, but in a low-key way – like I was wearing designer sweatpants. » I guess that means the Lucid Air Pure is the equivalent of an expensive sport.
Yet, has this translated into value? Bellan says yes, but only if Lucid continues to improve its software through over-the-air updates.
As someone who has driven the Lucid Air several times, I was happy to learn that some of my biggest complaints, like the vehicle ping-ponging when the lane centering feature is engaged, have been resolved.
What is “This Week’s Wheels”? This is an opportunity to discover the different transport products that we are testing, whether it is an electric or hybrid car, an electric bicycle or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle. Future vehicles include the new generation Rivien R1S and the Volkswagen ID Buzz. Stay tuned.
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