Week ending: 2026-02-08

Mobility Industry Weekly Summary

Electric Vehicles

Tesla struggles globally: Profit fell 46% in 2025, with sales plunging 57% in UK and continuing declines across Europe. Company killed Models S and X to focus on humanoid robots, and discontinued Autopilot in favor of $99/month FSD subscription. The Verge
BYD overtakes Tesla: Chinese EV leader surpassed Tesla in annual sales for 2025 and is bringing the price war overseas alongside MG. Electrek
US DC fast charging surge: An astounding number of DC fast chargers came online in 2025, marking significant infrastructure progress. Electrek
Major discounts and launches: Hyundai offering $10,000 off all 2026 IONIQ 5 models, Chevy Equinox EV available with $10,000 discount, and Maserati slashing prices by $85,000. Electrek
China bans hidden door handles: China finalizing ban on Tesla-style retractable door handles starting 2027 after safety concerns. Tesla faces another wrongful death lawsuit over the feature. Electrek
Norway's EV dominance: Even after cutting incentives, Norway sold only 98 diesel cars in January. Electrek
Battery innovations: World's first sodium-ion battery EV debuts, potentially a game changer. Solid-state batteries hit milestone in US, with QuantumScape inaugurating pilot production. Electrek

Waymo raises $16 billion: The Alphabet-owned company secured funding at $126 billion valuation to expand to 20+ cities globally, including London and Tokyo. Now offering rides to/from SFO. TechCrunch
Waymo safety incidents: Robotaxi hit a child near Santa Monica elementary school and having difficulty stopping for school buses. SF power outage caused havoc on its fleet. TechCrunch
Tesla FSD controversies: Company's own Robotaxi data confirms crash rate 3x worse than humans even with monitor. Dropped plans for SF robo-charging site for robotaxis it doesn't have. Tesla exec told Congress "no one has ever" taken control of vehicles — but that's not true. Electrek
Lyft partners with Baidu: Signed agreement to bring autonomous vehicles to London. LinkedIn
Waabi raises $1B: Self-driving startup secured funding and partnered with Uber to expand into robotaxis. Phocuswire
Ford promises Level 3 autonomy: Automaker announced Level 3 capability by 2028 at CES. MoveMnt

Uber found liable: Company held liable for sexual assault in first of thousands of similar lawsuits. The Verge
Uber partnership with TSD Mobility: Teaming up to help dealerships with transportation logistics at NADA show. LinkedIn
Lyft adds Deborah Hersman to board: Safety expert joins board of directors to guide 2026 strategy. LinkedIn

Avis Budget Group partners with Waymo: Announced collaboration to launch and scale fully autonomous ride-hailing in Dallas. LinkedIn
Avis First launches: Introducing first-class car rental experience designed for premium travelers. LinkedIn
Hertz launches online car sales: Unveiled collaboration with Amazon to sell cars via Amazon Autos, partnering with Tom Brady for national campaign. LinkedIn
SIXT expands: Entered five new markets in Latin America/Caribbean, won Booking.com Traveller Review Award, and ranked #1 at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. LinkedIn
Flix acquires Flibco: Bus company sees opportunity in airport transfers, acquiring majority stake. Phocuswire

Google launches AI travel booking: Hotel and flight bookings coming to Google's AI Mode with agentic capabilities. Also launched AI-powered City Guide and Comic Postcards. Phocuswire
Major travel platforms report strong results: MakeMyTrip posted profit growth and spike in ancillary sales, Uber eyes "multitrillion-dollar opportunity" in AVs, Trivago turned a corner with strong 2025 results. Phocuswire
Navan going public: Travel management specialist to debut on Nasdaq. Phocuswire
AI investments surge: Sabre takes stake in BizTrip AI, OpenAI and Booking.com launch SME AI adoption program, Accor launches app in ChatGPT. Phocuswire
Kayak CEO steps down: Co-founder Steve Hafner steps down after leading the company. Phocuswire

Epstein files implicate tech leaders: Newly released DOJ emails show Musk lied about "refusing" Epstein island invite. Two Tesla board members appear extensively in files. Prince Andrew advisor pitched Epstein on Lucid Motors investment. Electrek
SpaceX-xAI merger: Musk merging SpaceX and xAI to build data centers in space. Tesla invested $2B in xAI. SpaceX seeks approval to launch 1 million solar-powered satellite data centers. Wired