The principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights discusses the state of the robotaxi industry, his annual autonomous-vehicle leaderboard rankings, and whether consumer are ready to embrace electric vehicles.

Sam Abuelsamid examines whether AVs, EVs are ready for prime time

The vice president of homologation, vehicle safety and feature integration at Zoox describes the process the company used for self-certifying that its robotaxi conforms with federal standards and the status of the company’s self-driving deployments.

Zoox’s Amanda Prescott on the regulatory road ahead for robotaxis

The Green Hills Software CEO and The Dawn Project founder catalogs his concerns about the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot and “Full Self Driving” driver-assistance systems. He further scrutinizes the problems associated with software in safety-critical systems.

Dawn Project’s Dan O’Dowd takes on Tesla

SBD Automotive’s domain principal for EV discusses to what extent vehicle owners view their brands as leaders in sustainability, why software is a stronger motivator for EV purchases in China, and how increasing awareness about the environmental costs of battery production might impact adoption.

SBD Automotive’s Robert Fisher on why EV range anxiety might be overstated

The director of the Autonomous Vehicles Initiative at thinktank Securing America’s Future Energy outlines findings of a new case study that shows how electric AVs could dramatically reduce air and noise pollution in San Francisco.

SAFE’s Allanté Whitmore: electric AVs can take a big bite out of pollution

The co-founder and chief technology officer details the latest developments in the company’s driverless operations and shares how customers are replacing Class 8 big rigs with Gatik’s box trucks on repeatable, “Middle Mile” routes.

Gatik’s Arjun Narang firms up plans to scale self-driving trucks

On a special episode of Shift, Automotive News staffers are contestants on a game show about electric vehicle sounds. That is followed by an explanation of the factors driving electric vehicle sound design.

What should an EV sound like?

John O’Leary, CEO of Daimler Truck North America, discusses where he thinks hydrogen fits in commercial trucking and what role incentives play in increasing vehicle affordability. He also shares his perspective on charging infrastructure availability.

John O’Leary on the affordability gap for zero-emissions vehicles

The founder and CEO of The Road To Autonomy examines the new Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture, casts some doubts on the auto industry’s electrification push and explores the broader mobility business landscape.

Grayson Brulte on the rocky rollout of software-defined vehicles

The investor, advisor and former U.S. DOT senior scientist links the emerging eVTOL industry with America’s global innovation leadership. She further explains how aviation must be better integrated with other transportation options.

Sarasina Tuchen previews air mobility’s third chapter

Although hydrogen may cost more initially, the FirstElement Fuel co-founder and chief business development officer argues hydrogen-powered trucks will be more efficient and viable than battery-electric counterparts at scale.

FirstElement Fuel’s Shane Stephens on hydrogen trucks’ long-term advantage (Part II)

The director of the University of Michigan’s Law and Mobility Program argues against removing humans from self-driving vehicles and suggests the autonomous-vehicle industry can learn a lot from aviation on building trust.

Tifani Sadek on keeping human drivers aboard ‘driverless’ cars

Shift brings two timely conversations this week. First, Austin Russell explores what it takes to industrialize lidar at a time of turbulence in the industry. Then, Jeff Allen, previews the Forth electric transportation conference as it moves to Detroit.

Luminar CEO Austin Russell | Forth director Jeff Allen

Kristy Fleischmann Groncki and Stephanie Leach, both of the clean energy solutions team at Baltimore Gas and Electric, detail first-of-their-kind initiatives which allow EV owners and utilities to explore time-of-use charging cooperation and vehicle-to-home power used in parallel with the grid.

Here’s how a leading utility company has prepared for the EV transition

The University of South Carolina professor and autonomous-driving safety expert discusses Tesla’s Cybercab rollout, Waymo’s growing operations, and how self-driving rules, regulations and laws might be shaped by upcoming elections.

Bryant Walker Smith examines the state of the self-driving industry

The investment director at the LG Group’s venture capital arm discusses the investment atmosphere for battery startups, the race to develop low-cost battery chemistries and promising stationary energy storage developments.

LG Technology Ventures’ Sungkwon Kang warns of battery-investment headwinds (episode 275)

Product planning will be difficult for automakers amid a changeover in the White House, said Jeff Schuster, global vice president of automotive research at GlobalData. He outlines the incoming Trump administration’s potential impact on electrification, affordability, automaker plant utilization and more.

GlobalData’s Jeff Schuster on potential EV incentive, tariff changes under Trump (episode 276)

The co-founder and CEO of startup Croft unveils plans for a hydrogen-powered pickup truck, details new technology that circumvents an intractable infrastructure barrier, and explains how a hydrogen movement comprised of “gearheads, rednecks and mad scientists” can help sustain the legacy of the automobile.

Croft’s Roderick Blevins foments a ‘hydrogen rebellion’ (episode 277)

The founder and CEO of Bot Auto showcases his new startup, recounts his fraught experience at TuSimple and explains what it really takes to ensure self-driving trucks are profitable. Bonus: He details his passion for music, from classical to Judas Priest.

Bot Auto’s Xiaodi Hou takes his second stab at self-driving trucks (episode 278)

Mobility strategist Selika Josiah Talbott and Michigan chief mobility officer Justine Johnson detail the prospect of a ‘mobility czar’ overseeing policy for autonomous and electric vehicles. Further, they discuss the role states can play in fostering innovation amid a changing federal landscape.

How a ‘mobility czar’ could bolster transportation innovation

The vice president at consulting firm Gartner, Inc. analyses General Motors’ decision to abandon robotaxi development and pivot its Cruise subsidiary toward personally owned vehicles. Further, he discusses the steep challenges legacy automakers like GM face in sustaining big technology bets.

Gartner’s Mike Ramsey sorts through the Cruise rubble (episode 280)

The CEO of the Consumer Technology Association spotlights transportation technology headlines from the upcoming CES show in Las Vegas. Further, he offers candid thoughts on growing trade tensions and what it will take for American companies to survive and thrive amid global uncertainty.

Gary Shapiro outlines a ‘pivot or die’ strategy ahead of CES 2025 (Episode 281)

Ahead of CES, the CEO of DARPA-backed startup details artificial-intelligence advances that prioritize energy efficiency and eliminate memory bottlenecks. Further, he explains the impact of such gains in vehicle computing architecture and the ability to add new AI features.

EnCharge AI’s Naveen Verma pioneers chips that could upend vehicle computing architectures

From Las Vegas, BCG analyst Augustin Wegscheider provides an overview of auto-tech trends at CES. Then Mobileye chief technology officer Shai Shalev-Shwartz details the company’s plans for evolving its driver-assist features into fully autonomous vehicles.

CES: BCG’s Augustin Wegscheider | Mobileye’s Shai Shalev-Shwartz (Episode 283)

The executive director of the Coalition for Reimagined Mobility, part of the Securing America’s Future Energy think tank, breaks down new Commerce Department rules that keep Chinese and Russian software and hardware out of the connected-vehicle supply chain.

Further, he discusses the state of America’s competitiveness with China in commercializing new transportation technology at meaningful scale.

Avery Ash examines U.S. crackdown on Chinese connected-car tech (Episode 284)

Nuro COO Andrew Chapin and Vice President of Engineering Tilo Schwarz explain the company’s pivot from developing bespoke delivery bots toward licensing automated driving tech to carmakers and others. Further, they detail testing efforts on private and public roads.

Bye-bye bots: Nuro concentrates on licensing its self-driving tech (Episode 285)

The General Motors senior vice president of software and service engineering details efforts to build a software-oriented culture, explains why the company eschewed Apple CarPlay and examines similarities between Apple and GM’s product-first focus.

Dave Richardson on developing GM’s software ‘muscle’ (Episode 286)

In this episode, Leslie and Pete talk to Robbie Miller, chief safety officer at Pronto, a company developing advanced driver assistance systems for trucks. He discusses how he became a whistleblower at Uber, why miles driven may not be the best way of measuring safety, and what he’s up to now.

AV safety expert Robbie Miller on self-driving “science fiction“ (Episode 12)

Mark de la Vergne, chief mobility officer for the City of Detroit, discusses a recent grant the city received from the US Department of Transportation and city’s new mobility efforts, including scooters and e-bikes.

Motor City mobility with Mark de la Vergne (Episode 15)

Trevor Milton, Nikola Motor Company CEO, discusses the company’s “battery breakthrough,” his thoughts on Tesla and what a successful delivery of Budweiser beer means for his business.

Nikola Motor’s Trevor Milton on electrification, Tesla and a beer delivery (Episode 21)

Finch Fulton, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy, and NHTSA general counsel Jonathan Morrison discuss the federal government’s recent Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on automated driving systems, other AV initiatives, and new complications facing connected cars.

USDOT sketches road rules ahead for self-driving vehicles (Episode 74)

On Shift: A podcast about mobility, Automotive News tech and innovation team leader Pete Bigelow takes an optimistic yet skeptical eye at the new tech and business models planned for the auto industry.
 
Shift is a production of Automotive News, the leading publication covering the auto industry. Check out our reporting online at autonews.com/shift and follow us on Twitter @Automotive_News.

Shift: A podcast about mobility

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