Weekly Roundup: 19th-25th November
- FWO and Dewan Motors sign MoU for Installation of EV charging stations on the Motorway
- Ford and Rivian drop joint venture for Electric Vehicles
- Apple to debut self-driving car in 2025
On Cleaner Environment
Pakistan’s EV policy will reduce air pollution by 40pc
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam said Pakistan’s electric future policy will help reduce air pollution by over 43pc. He added that more than 43pc of airborne emissions come from the transport sector in Pakistan hence switching to clean fuels would provide a huge relief in air pollution after the transition to electric vehicles. Read more here.
Punjab fines and impounds heavy smoke-emitting vehicles
Authorities have imposed fines of Rs 2.19 million on the violators. The Punjab Transport Company’s (PTC) Enforcement Wing caught 9,747 public transport vehicles violating the environment protection rules, of which 2,005 were seized and taken to nearby police stations, and 1,938 vehicles were let go after warnings. Read more about this here.
Sindh Hybrid Buses project to start operations in January
To provide better and greener transport facility to the people of Sindh, 250 hybrid buses will begin operations in January 2022. Secretary Transport Sindh Sharik Ahmed announced that the buses will operate in Karachi, Larkana, Hyderabad and Mirpur Khas with the economical cooperation of Asian Development Bank. Read more about this story here.
Deals and Ventures
FWO, Dewan Motors sign MoU for Installation of EV charging stations on the Motorway
Under the signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and Dewan Motors. The company will establish EV Charging infrastructure on Pakistan’s main thoroughfares, with the first one on M-2 at Bhera Main Service Areas. Read more here.
Rivian, Ford abandon joint EV plans
Electric truck maker Rivian and auto giant Ford announced they have canceled the plans to jointly develop an electric vehicle. The decision came after Ford scaled its own EV strategy and Rivian’s shares soared. Rivian’s spokesperson said the companies have mutually decided to work on their individual projects and deliveries. Following the news, Rivian’s shares plunged 17%. Check out more about it here.
Huawei partners with Changan for EV brand Avatr
Huawei has finally made its first move into the automotive industry with their joint venture with Chinese carmaker Changan and battery maker CATL. Together, the companies are all set to launch their Electric Vehicles (EV) brand Avatr Technology. The first model introduced under the brand is an electric SUV Avatr 11. Read more here.
GM backs electric boat startup in a $150M deal
As part of its electrification strategy, General Motors has acquired a 25% stake in a Seattle based start-up called Pure Watercraft to make electric boats. The deal is worth $150 million and GM will supply components to Pure Watercraft for the new products. The joint effort will enable new advancements in the electrification of boats. Read more here.
An Electrified Future
Xiaomi announces plan to mass produce first electric car in 2024
The second-largest smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has announced its plans to produce its own range of Electric Vehicles (EV). The company introduced a separate venture called Xiaomi EV Company Limited for new energy vehicles and vehicle manufacturing. Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun confirmed the mass production of EVs by 2024. Read more about it here.
Ford to boost EV production to 600K by 2023
Ford, the American multinational automobile manufacturer has announced to double its Electric Vehicle (EV) production capacity to make 600,000 electric vehicles per year. The company has accelerated its plan to electrify the vehicle lineup after some delay due to unknown reasons. Successful production of 600,000 vehicles will make Ford the second-largest EV company after Tesla. Read more here.
Apple aims to debut their self-driving car in 2025
Apple has a new aggressive timeline for their new project called Project Titan; an automotive business that plans to debut a fully driverless EV by 2025. The company’s silicon engineering group has developed the car chip that consists of processors to handle the AI needed for autonomous driving. Read more about it here.
Views on the Sector
How micromobility operators can unlock a $300B industry
Compared with cars, e-scooters are an environment friendly cheaper means of transport, yet they receive little to no serious thought. This is evident in the venture investment interest this sector generates. However, the global micromobility is expected to become a $300 billion to $500 billion industry by 2030 as cities adopt sustainable urban environment rules. Read more about it here.
About Us
This week in Transport is a weekly round-up of everything happening in the transportation world; from sustainable transport initiatives to expansion plans, and implementation of an intelligent transport system. Watch this space for more sector news!