Mobility Monitor

Autonomous Vehicles

• Waymo is expanding service to San Antonio Airport with curbside drop-offs, but analysts say the company needs a new OEM partner and may be running out of time to secure one before Q4 (Road to Autonomy)
• Waymo opened Nashville as a new market and is manually gathering data on the streets of New York City, while NYC officials have blocked autonomous vehicle operations there (Road to Autonomy)
• Waymo's relationship with Toyota deepened with speculation that Tokyo could become the company's first Toyota-powered international market (Road to Autonomy)
• Tesla expanded its Robotaxi Unsupervised service area in Austin while Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis in Wuhan experienced crashes after coming to a halt (Road to Autonomy)
• Volkswagen's MOIA and Uber are validating the ID. Buzz in Los Angeles ahead of commercial robotaxi service; MOIA launched Europe's first commercial robotaxi service (Road to Autonomy)
• Waymo is in talks to raise $15 billion as it scales to 500,000 autonomous trips per week across 10 US cities (Moving People Newsletter)
• Waabi raised $1 billion and Gatik raised $600 million as AV companies scale toward robotaxi production (Moving People Newsletter)
• Glydways, a Khosla-backed autonomous pod startup, raised $170 million and is now in talks to raise another $250 million as it prepares to launch three pilot programs (TechCrunch)
• Meter Feeder and Mapless AI completed what they claim is the first machine-to-machine parking transaction in the US, allowing AVs to pay for parking autonomously without a human; the pilot was timed to Waymo's Pittsburgh deployment (Technical.ly)
• ADASTEC removed safety drivers from autonomous bus operations in Norway, and MOIA began AV validation testing in Los Angeles; EasyMile pivoted its business model (Moving People Newsletter)
• Overland AI, which grew out of the DARPA RACER program, is deploying autonomous ground vehicles for battlefield applications (Road to Autonomy)
• China is preparing to inject $400 billion into robotics in 2026, encouraging shared manufacturing between EVs and humanoid robots as part of an autonomous Belt and Road strategy (Road to Autonomy)
• HD Hyundai's Avikus received DNV maritime autonomy certification from Norway for its autonomous vessel technology (Road to Autonomy)

Rideshare Industry

• Uber acquired Getir and reported FY25 financials alongside an AV roadmap; Lyft and Grab also reported FY25 results (Moving People Newsletter)
• Uber committed to deploying 50,000 Rivian vehicles on its platform and expanded partnerships with Motional, Zoox, and Wayve (Moving People Newsletter)
• Also raised $200 million and partnered with DoorDash for autonomous delivery vehicles; Rivian spun out Also as a standalone company (Moving People Newsletter)
• Baidu launched ride-hailing services in London competing with both Lyft and Uber; Grab acquired Infermove and foodpanda Taiwan (Moving People Newsletter)
• Luxury ride-hailing app Wheely expanded to New York City, targeting high-end customers (MSN)
• Travis Kalanick returned to the mobility industry, drawing comparisons to the 2016 era of rideshare disruption (TechCrunch Mobility)
• InDrive acquired Krave Mart as the company extended its platform beyond ride-hailing into quick commerce (Moving People Newsletter)

Electric Vehicles

• Ford EV and software chief Doug Field is leaving the company; Alan Clarke, the ex-Tesla engineer running Ford's California skunkworks lab, will take a more prominent role (The Verge)
• Rivian's R2 is central to the company's survival strategy, with its software platform and a new revenue model beyond vehicle sales; Rivian also had a leadership shake-up (TechCrunch Mobility)
• Mobile charging technology is advancing as a potential solution to EV usage challenges in the car rental industry (Auto Rental News)
• Monarch Tractor, which made autonomous electric farm equipment, collapsed and was acquired by Caterpillar after mounting pressure from dealers and farmers over technology failures (TechCrunch)
• Renault shut down Mobilize, its mobility services brand, as OEMs raced toward autonomy and Chinese price wars continued to pressure legacy automakers (Moving People Newsletter)
• Nissan's Chief Product Planner said the company is looking at rebuilding a sports car lineup and wants to revive the Silvia nameplate (The Drive)

Rental Car Industry

• Avis stock quadrupled in one month due to a short squeeze, with two shareholders effectively controlling more than 100% of the company through stock and swaps (View From the Wing)
• Surprice expanded to premier holiday destinations and opened counters at four Middle Eastern airports in the UAE (Auto Rental News)
• Green Motion and U-Save launched operations in Panama, extending both brands' presence in Latin America (Auto Rental News)
• Green Motion opened a new rental facility at Rome Fiumicino Airport (Auto Rental News)
• Hyre launched car rental operations at Norway's largest airports using a fully digital model that lets customers go directly from the plane to their reserved vehicle (Auto Rental News)
• AutoUnion arranged a new franchise in Costa Rica, focusing on tourism markets with strong local partnership potential (Auto Rental News)
• Final Rentals expanded to Malaga, Mallorca, and Sicily with new locations available via its website and app (Auto Rental News)
• Signature Aviation and Sixt Car Rental announced a partnership across Europe (AIN Online)

Airline Industry

• JetBlue founder David Neeleman warned the airline could be pushed into bankruptcy this year if fuel prices stay elevated and said he does not believe any major carrier would acquire it (View From the Wing)
• Spirit Airlines could stop flying as soon as this week and begin liquidating assets, with creditors still in talks but new bookings collapsing (View From the Wing)
• Spirit's bankruptcy trustee sought to delay its exit from bankruptcy as liquidation scenarios emerged; United and JetBlue are positioned to benefit in markets like Fort Lauderdale (Skift)
• United Airlines cut Polaris lounge access for most Star Alliance business class passengers, retaining entry only for its own premium customers and select joint venture partners (View From the Wing)
• Delta CEO stated the airline has no interest in a merger, saying it is successful on its own, amid speculation United may pursue a deal with American (Skift)
• Akasa shifted its international expansion focus from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, adding Hanoi as the Iran war froze Gulf route growth (Skift)
• AI-powered pricing models are being tested to help airlines manage fuel cost volatility triggered by the Iran war (Phocuswire)
• WiT Phocuswright Middle East moved its conference from Dubai to Barcelona on June 15 due to regional conflict disrupting travel industry planning (Phocuswire)

AI / Automation in Travel and Hospitality

• Starbucks launched a beta integration with ChatGPT that lets customers discover drinks and start orders through the AI assistant, pushing them into the Starbucks app to complete the transaction (CX Dive)
• SiteMinder connected its hotel inventory platform to AI booking channels via Model Context Protocol, enabling AI agents to surface live hotel availability during trip planning (Phocuswire)
• Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin said the company is positioning itself as a trusted alternative to LLM-based booking tools, arguing that traveler hesitancy about AI is an edge for Expedia (Skift)
• Navan CEO defended the company's spending strategy post-IPO as the AI-first travel management platform grows fast but remains unprofitable (Skift)

Robotics and Airport Technology

• Azalea Robotics is deploying its ARC One autonomous baggage-handling robot in airports; the cage-free mobile system uses suction to handle bags without fixed infrastructure (Road to Autonomy)
• Amazon made coordinated acquisitions of Fauna Robotics and RIVR as part of an embodied AI strategy for warehouse and fulfillment automation (Road to Autonomy)
• BENTELER acquired ioki, the mobility software and on-demand transit platform formerly owned by Deutsche Bahn (Moving People Newsletter)
• Zipline raised $600 million to expand its drone delivery network (TechCrunch Mobility)
• Manna Air raised $50 million and Zipline raised an additional $200 million round to expand drone delivery operations (Moving People Newsletter)

Micromobility and Shared Mobility

• Flix acquired Flibco and CMAC acquired minicabit as consolidation continued in the ground transport and transfer sector; Bolt launched a new e-bike (Moving People Newsletter)
• Zeus acquired Superpedestrian's scooter assets as consolidation reshaped the micromobility landscape (Moving People Newsletter)
• Voi published its FY25 report while TADA, eVersum, and Zoomcar are each seeking new investors (Moving People Newsletter)
• Dott raised 173 million euros and Einride raised $113 million as electric mobility startups continued to attract capital (Moving People Newsletter)
• Donkey Republic raised 10 million euros to expand its shared bike platform (Moving People Newsletter)

Travel Finance and Loyalty

• Citi launched a new premium credit card with a 75,000-point bonus and transferable points including to American Airlines, with credits stackable twice in the first year (View From the Wing)
• Wells Fargo Autograph Journey added Wyndham as a 1:2 transfer partner, increasing the card's value for travel redemptions (View From the Wing)