Weekly Ezine

Dear Reader,

Early this week, Hertz announced that it is retiring a third of its electric vehicle fleet (about 20,000 EVs). It is expected to incur a loss of a quarter of billion dollars (~USD 245 Mil) in this process. Hertz had made big push for the EVs in 2021, when it announced its intent to buy 100,000 Tesla EVs. For Hertz, its more than expected cost on account of maintenance and upkeep of vehicle, which is forcing it to take the decision. Below expectation after sales service and maintenance of EV is similar to what in India Ola scooter buyer is faced with- more than expected time spent in getting it repaired or serviced. Maybe to overcome such fear or inhibition amongst the prospective buyer, Ather Energy yesterday announced their ExpressCare.

Move on WFH, it's time for Work From Car. Soon Android Auto users can take Microsoft Teams call from their vehicle. Earlier Google had announced about Zoom and Webex integration with Android Auto.

This week, a group of 18 European mobility companies and start-ups launched EU Future Mobility Task force. The objective of this task force is to guide EU policymakers on innovation and startups in the transportation sector for upcoming legislative initiatives. Somewhat similar to the initiatives under National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage which through consultation with broad spectrum of stakeholders, prepares the guidelines and reports on way forward.

A research team of graduates at MIT, Boston has tested open source hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle. According to Aditya Mehrotra, who is spearheading this project, it is first fully open-source, rigorously documented, tested and released-as-a-platform.

Best wishes,
Maneesh Prasad
CEO, Telematics Wire