Rivian has announced the introduction of its proprietary RAP1 processor and a comprehensive autonomy platform during its 1st Autonomy & AI Day in Palo Alto. The RAP1 is built on a custom 5nm architecture, delivering 1,600 sparse INT8 TOPS and 5 billion pixels per second processing, all within a single multi-chip module. It powers the 3rd-generation Autonomy Compute Module, slated for inclusion in R2 models at the end of 2026. The company’s sensor strategy includes integrating LiDAR into future R2 vehicles to enable redundant, multi-modal perception. These advancements support a new software-first architecture driven by AI and centred on Rivian’s Large Driving Model, which is a foundational autonomy model trained in a manner akin to large language models and refined via Group-Relative Policy Optimisation. Rivian has already enabled its Universal Hands-Free driver assistance on over 3.5 million miles of roads. A subscription-based Autonomy+ package is available, with one-time and monthly payment options. The roadmap targets features such as point-to-point navigation and Level 4 personal autonomy for future R2 vehicles. The Rivian Unified Intelligence platform underpins this ecosystem, extending AI capabilities across diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and customer-facing tools. The system includes Rivian Assistant, an AI voice interface launching in H1 26, integrating vehicle data, third-party apps, and a context-aware chat system.
Schroders Greencoat has announced it has acquired a majority stake in Meld Energy, a UK-based developer of green hydrogen and e‑fuel. The primary focus of Meld is the Saltend Green Hydrogen Hub in Hull, a £250m 100MW hydrogen facility designed to decarbonise heavy industry in the Humber region. With planning approval already secured, the partnership aims to support the project’s transition from late-stage development to construction and eventual operation. Schroders Greencoat brings considerable expertise and capital, leveraging its position as the UK’s largest green hydrogen investor, currently overseeing over 300 MW of similar projects. The investment reflects Schroders Greencoat’s strategy to expand beyond operating assets towards development platforms, enhancing its infrastructure capabilities. Meld Energy described the backing as a significant confidence boost, highlighting the firm’s engineering expertise and strong industry partnerships. The deal also builds on Schroders Greencoat’s commitment to the UK’s energy transition, following its existing successful initiatives, such as the Hydrogen Allocation Round-backed projects. This collaboration aims to accelerate the deployment of critical hydrogen infrastructure in strategic locations across the UK.
FirstGroup plc has announced it has completed the acquisition of RATP Dev’s sightseeing bus operations in London and Bath under the Tootbus brand, thus marking its entry into the sightseeing market. The deal, valued at c.£17m, includes a fleet of 63 buses, 42 based in London and 21 in Bath, alongside the transfer of around 190 employees. FirstGroup also gains control of a freehold depot in Wandsworth, southwest London, and a leased site in Keynsham, near Bath, as well as the Airdecker shuttle service between Bath and Bristol Airport. A 12-month transitional service agreement will support an operational handover while maintaining the existing Tootbus branding and services. FirstGroup emphasised that the acquisition aligns with the company’s UK-focused growth strategy, broadening its presence in 2 important regional markets. The integration is expected to create operational synergies, cost efficiencies, and provide opportunities to bid for additional Transport for London bus contracts from the Wandsworth depot. The Tootbus operations reported revenues of £15.9m with a slight loss in 2023; however, FirstGroup forecasts revenues to rise to approximately £30m by 2029, with profitability following the initial transitional period. This strategic move reinforces FirstGroup’s diversification efforts and strengthens its presence in both urban and regional transport services.
da emobil has announced it has integrated over 2,600 public charging points into the Cariqa payments and billing platform, thus making them accessible through Cariqa Drive and Cariqa Connect. This partnership empowers da emobil with full control over tariff setting, eliminating reseller markups, and consequently enables faster, direct payout processing, which significantly improves financial operations. By bypassing traditional e‑mobility service providers, da emobil ensures the price set at the management level matches what drivers pay at the charger, addressing opaque pricing and delayed settlements common in fragmented EV markets. This integration grants the operator granular visibility into charger usage and performance while streamlining customer access and reducing administrative workload. The integrated network includes ultra-fast chargers up to 400 kW positioned along key domestic and trans‑European corridors, optimised to minimise vehicle dwell time during long trips. According to Cariqa, the move gives da emobil complete ownership of its commercial strategy while delivering transparent pricing for users. Beyond enhancing revenue stability and cash flow, this collaboration marks a shift toward direct billing models across Europe, replacing fragmented legacy systems with a unified, transparent billing infrastructure.
XPENG has announced it has teamed up with EP Manufacturing Berhad to launch local EV production in Malacca (Malaysia), with mass production pencilled in to begin in 2026. This marks XPENG’s 3rd global and 2nd Asia-Pacific localised manufacturing project, following facilities in Indonesia and Austria. The collaboration aims to align with XPENG’s broader ecosystem strategy, integrating production, sales, charging services, and user support across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. By leveraging EPMB’s extensive experience as a Tier 1 automotive supplier, the partnership will enhance XPENG’s ability to deliver intelligent EVs tailored to Malaysian and wider ASEAN markets. This move aligns with Malaysia’s green economy ambitions, boosting its new energy vehicle industry and creating skilled local employment. Interestingly, between January and November 2025, XPENG’s overseas deliveries climbed 95% YoY to 39,773 units, supported by a global network of 321 outlets. This Malaysian project is expected to deepen market integration, improve supply-chain responsiveness, and strengthen XPENG’s competitive position in the region.
Geely Auto Group has announced it has launched the Geely Safety Centre in Ningbo (China), now the world’s largest automotive safety testing facility. Covering 45,000 m² and built with over RMB 2 billion investment, this facility also set 5 Guinness World Records: the largest automotive safety lab (c.81,930 m²), the longest indoor crash track (293.39 m), the largest altitude-adjustable wind tunnel (c.28,536 m²; winds up to 250 km/h), the most expansive 0–180 degrees crash zone (12,709 m²), and the greatest variety of tests (27) available in a single automaker’s facility. This centre embraces a comprehensive safety approach tailored to intelligent and electrified vehicles, offering high-speed crash scenarios, pedestrian protection, active safety simulation, battery and powertrain evaluations, cybersecurity assessments, and environmental health checks. It includes CNAS-certified labs for chip, firmware, OTA, and sensor testing, while a Golden Nose team ensures cabin air quality by detecting volatile or harmful substances. Strategically, the Safety Centre merges global best practices with Geely’s technological capabilities, backed by over RMB 250 billion in R&D over the past decade. It also functions as an innovation hub, collaborating with bodies such as the China Automotive Technology and Research Centre and Tsinghua University, resulting in co-authoring a white paper on intelligent vehicle safety.
Bloomberg’s Transportation team have published an interesting thought leadership piece regarding how Chinese EV brands have sparked a major price war in Thailand, offering steep discounts to undercut Japanese competitors and capture market share. In October, BYD reduced the price of its Seal sedan by up to 38% and pledged additional compensation if further cuts occur. SAIC Motor’s MG4 hatchback saw a 27% reduction, while Chery’s new Jaecoo J5 attracted nearly 20,000 orders despite delivery delays. These aggressive promotions drove over 20% growth in EV sales in October and November, as more Thai consumers shifted from (legacy) Japanese brands to Chinese alternatives. However, this strategy brings risks. Manufacturers, including BYD and Chery, are aggressively cutting prices to clear inventory and meet Thailand’s local production targets. This has started to inflate fear among buyers who expect further discounts, potentially pausing purchases and aggravating oversupply. Regulatory concerns have emerged: Thailand’s government recently extended the deadline for local production credits by 6 months, signalling allowances for manufacturers but also highlighting production‑demand imbalances. Analysts warn that repeating deep discounts can hurt long‑term market stability, as consumers hold off purchases waiting for better deals. Thailand now faces dual challenges: managing an influx of competitively priced Chinese EVs while ensuring sustainable growth and maintaining consumer confidence in a rapidly evolving automotive landscape.
SEAT & CUPRA have announced the inauguration of a €300m battery system assembly plant in Martorell (Spain), thus marking a pivotal step in their electrification strategy. Spanning 64,000 m², this facility is designed to produce 1,200 battery systems daily, equating to 300,000 units annually. Production is targeted to commence in 2026 for the CUPRA Raval and Volkswagen ID. Polo. Astonishingly, its high-throughput automation enables the plant to assemble one battery system every 45 seconds, while a dedicated 600‑metre bridge efficiently transfers completed systems to the vehicle assembly workshop. Sustainability is integral to the plant’s design; for example, rooftop solar panels generate c.70% of its electricity, supplemented by a water collection system to enhance resource efficiency. Adopting the Volkswagen Group’s MEB+ battery platform, the plant employs unified cell technology and lithium-iron phosphate chemistry, balancing cost-effectiveness with flexibility. As a result, Martorell becomes the 3rd-largest production site in Europe for the Volkswagen Group, with an annual vehicle capacity reaching 600,000 units, half of which could be BEVs. Serving the Electric Urban Car Family project, this facility aligns production efforts between Martorell and Volkswagen Navarra and will initially support the CUPRA Raval with entry-level models priced from around €26,000.
Deals
Qargo, a cloud-based transport management system, has secured $33m in a Series B round led by Sofina, with participation from existing investor Balderton Capital, thus bringing its total funding to $54m. This investment follows Qargo's rapid expansion across key European logistics hubs over the past 18 months and will fund team growth, market expansion, and further AI-driven product development. The platform, aimed at carriers, freight forwarders, and 3PLs, digitises operations and automates manual tasks, such as covering order entry, planning, load building, invoicing, and reporting, by integrating with clients’ existing systems to enhance operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Qargo’s AI engine (Qargo Intelligence) automates large portions of the transport workflow, including route planning, trip optimisation, load building, invoicing, and warehouse slot booking. This has slashed time spent on repetitive administrative tasks by up to 75%, subsequently freeing hundreds of hours weekly across planning, customer service, and back-office teams. With the addition of agentic AI capable of interacting with external systems, Qargo substantially reduces overhead costs and accelerates processes. Since its Series A (in May 2024), annual customer invoicing managed on Qargo has grown from £420m to over £1.9bn, while its customer base has expanded from around 100 to more than 400.
FION Energy, a Berlin-based cleantech startup, has secured €1.4m in a pre-seed funding round led by HTGF and Norrsken Evolve. This startup focuses on offering an end-to-end solution for industrial battery storage that is manufacturer-agnostic and AI-optimised, thus designed to help factories manage high electricity costs without operational complexity. FION’s proprietary AI dispatch engine learns consumption patterns, tariff structures, and market prices to autonomously control battery systems, smoothing load peaks, reducing grid fees, and enabling electricity price arbitrage. Early deployments are already active across Germany, and work is underway to scale across Europe. With the raised capital, FION plans to accelerate platform development, expand its team, and deploy additional systems for industrial clients consuming over 2 GWh annually. Its mission is to transform energy into a competitive strategic asset for European manufacturers, improving grid stability and sustainability while significantly lowering operational energy costs.