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Bike Tax Service Baxi Plans to Roll Out a Hyperlocal Delivery Model

26Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, News

Bike Tax Service Baxi Plans to Roll Out a Hyperlocal Delivery Model

Gurgaon-based 74 BC Technologies, which owned and operated bike taxi service Baxi, is reportedly in the process to launch a hyper-local delivery model. For this, the company has tied up with two major FMCG brands. Baxi had raised Rs 10 crore in 2015 from a host of well-known early-stage investors and is in the final stages of launching its hyper-local delivery service, which is expected to go live in January. The company has also partnered with home-grown consumer goods brand Patanjali Industries and dairy major Mother Dairy. As part of the pivot, Baxi will rebrand as B-fresh, and will deliver goods, across the dairy, fruits and vegetables, drugs and other household items to consumers spread across Gurgaon and certain parts of Delhi. “The idea was to tie up wi...

China’s Mobike CEO Resigns Due to Uncertain Future for Bike Sharing

25Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, News

China’s Mobike CEO Resigns Due to Uncertain Future for Bike Sharing

Hu Weiwei, co-founder of Beijing Mobike Technology Co Ltd, has stepped down as its CEO, placing more uncertainty on the future of the bike-sharing startup. The move followed shortly after Mobike's cash-strapped rival Ofo Inc came under fire for stalling on deposit refunds. Once touted as investor darlings, the two companies seem to be pedaling toward an unforeseeable future due to overexpansion and struggling to find profitable business models. Mobike said Hu resigned for personal reasons, and Liu Yu, president of Mobike, will take her place. Hu's departure means that most of Mobike's founding team members have now left the three-year-old company. In April, Mobike was acquired by China's largest provider of on-demand online services, Meituan-Dianping. In November, Wang Xing, CEO ...

Google Maps to Show Nearby Lime Bikes and Scooters in 13 Locations

14Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, News

Google Maps to Show Nearby Lime Bikes and Scooters in 13 Locations

The technology giant Google has partnered with scooter hiring company Lime to show nearby bikes and scooters in 13 cities worldwide. If there’s a Lime vehicle available nearby, Google Maps will show you how long it will take to get to the vehicle, the estimated price of the ride and total journey time. Similar to the Uber integration in Google Maps, tapping on Lime will open the Lime app. If you don’t have it installed, you’ll be directed to the Apple App or Google Play store. This is now live in Auckland, New Zealand, Austin, Texas, Baltimore, Md., Brisbane, Australia, Dallas, Texas, Indianapolis, Ind., Los Angeles, Calif., San Diego, Calif., Oakland, Calif., San Jose, Calif., San Antonio, Texas, Scottsdale, Ariz. and Seattle, Wash. Google says additional cities are in the works. ...

General Motors to Foray into the Electric Vehicle Segment

3Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, BUSINESS

General Motors to Foray into the Electric Vehicle Segment

The popular automobile company General Motors (GM) is planning to enter the electric motor segment and for this, the company has decided to launch two new electric bikes to market next year. One of the two bikes will be folding and the other one will be compact. General Motors is making a broader push into electrification and other ideas that try to move beyond its traditional business model of producing and selling gas-power vehicles. Hannah Parish, director of General Motors Urban Mobility Solutions did not reveal much about the company’s plans to launch a bike-sharing service as a result of these two new products. “I can’t say anything is on or off the table at this point,” she stated. “We know that people who live in urban areas, like myself in downtown Toronto need different o...

China’s Bike Company Youon Expands to Europe to Cut Competition

1Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile

China’s Bike Company Youon Expands to Europe to Cut Competition

A lesser-known China’s bike company Youon is reportedly expanding to Europe as its rival Ofo has applied the brakes to its global expansion strategy in recent months. The company has formed a joint venture with UK-based bike-sharing startup Cycle.land which will enable Youon to sit back in its headquarters in eastern China while its British partner deploys its bikes and takes care of on-the-ground operation. The fleet of the company’s 1,000 public bikes will start appearing in London next March. This move will make the UK the fourth country in its international expansion after Russia, India, and Malaysia. “User behavior in Europe and North America is very different and it will be reckless for a [Chinese] firm to abruptly set up its own operations overseas,” Sun Naiyue, an analyst at...

Ford Expands Self-driving Vehicle Program to Washington, D.C.

23Oct By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, USA

Ford Expands Self-driving Vehicle Program to Washington, D.C.

The automobile major Ford is reportedly coming up with its autonomous vehicles in Washington, D.C. which would become the fourth city to join the automaker’s testing program. The company is preparing to roll out a self-driving taxi and delivery service in 2021. It will start testing its self-driving vehicles in the district in the first quarter of 2019 which it is already testing in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Miami. Ford is a bit different from other companies that have launched autonomous vehicle pilots in the U.S. The company invested $1 billion in Argo AI which would be developing the virtual driver system and high-definition maps designed for Ford’s self-driving vehicles. In the meantime, the automobile maker is testing its go-to-market strategy through pilot programs with partne...

Beijing to Build 1,628 More Electric-Auto Charging Piles

1Oct By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, CHINA

Beijing to Build 1,628 More Electric-Auto Charging Piles

China’s capital Beijing has announced to add 1,628 more public charging piles for the new energy vehicles. These fresh charging services will be placed in crowded areas near shopping malls, hospitals, hotels and parks in more than 10 districts around the city. At present, the Chinese city has a total of 132,000 charging piles for new energy vehicles, and with this addition, it is going to expand more. The demand and sale of electric vehicles are increasing day by day. New energy vehicle sales went up 49.5 percent year-on-year to 101,000 vehicles last month, on the other hand, production rose 39 percent to 99,000 vehicles. China has been the world's largest new energy vehicle market for three continuous years. Last year, the country sold around 777,000 vehicles. The country produce...

Polestar Debuts First Production EV to Overtake Tesla

22Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile

Polestar Debuts First Production EV to Overtake Tesla

Sweden-based Polestar debuted its first production EV and previewed its electric car line in New York. Polestar is a Volvo subsidiary which unveiled its Polestar 1, positioned less as a hybrid and more as a fully electric car to attract fence sitters to EVs. This car will hit the streets in 2019 and will be priced around $155,000. It has 3 electrical motors powered by twin 34kWh battery packs and a turbo and supercharged gas V4 up front. It is the first in a series, with an all-electric Polestar 2 to debut in 2019. “Polestar 2 will be a direct competitor to the Tesla Model 3…” CEO Thomas Ingenlath said while the launch event. Also, he stated that the company will focus more on creating converts to EVs than pulling away Tesla’s existing market share. According to Ingenlath, Polesta...

Bajaj Auto Announces Rs 2 Cr Contribution for Kerala Flood Relief

22Aug By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

Automobile, News

Bajaj Auto Announces Rs 2 Cr Contribution for Kerala Flood Relief

India's one of the leading automobile company Bajaj Auto announced a contribution of Rs 2 crore in aid of flood-hit Kerala. While Rs 1 crore is being contributed directly to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, the balance Rs 1 crore will be deployed by Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS), for distribution of survival kits, the company said in a statement. The contribution is in addition to the Rs 50 lakh already contributed by various Bajaj Trusts, it added. JBGVS is an institution that undertakes various corporate social responsibility initiatives of Bajaj Auto. "Through this amount, Bajaj Auto aims to support at least 1,000 families with a basic startup kit for those who have been affected by the floods," the statement said. Bajaj Auto President (Intra-city Business) ...

Bengaluru-based ONN Bikes All Set To Launch the Dockless Bike Services

26Jul By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Automobile, News

Bengaluru-based ONN Bikes All Set To Launch the Dockless Bike Services

ONN Bikes, the two-wheeler bike rental platform that is based in Bengaluru has taken a step forward to provide a better customer experience and make bike rentals hassle-free and enable quicker intra-city commutes by introducing dockless bikes on the basis of hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly bike rentals. Since the introduction of cab services, going from one place to another has become very easy but gradually as the demand has increased, the prices are also going high. There are Ola and Uber for those looking for hired rides, but they sometimes have painfully long wait times or are unavailable. To eliminate this problem, bike rental services were launched. ONN Bikes is one of the leading bike rental services that currently operates in Jaipur, Udaipur, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NC...

5May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

Automobile, BUSINESS

Hero Cycles Launches 75 New Bike Range For UK Market

Indian owned Hero Cycles which is also world's largest bike manufacturer has launched a keenly anticipated maiden range of bikes on Thursday, May 3 catering to the UK and European market under the new 'Insync' brand in Manchester. The Insync range of 75 new bikes will mark the first product to be launched by Hero's new design team that is currently operating from the £2 million Hero Cycles Global Design Centre (HGD) in Manchester. The HGD had come to inception on January 2017, following Hero's investment in the Manchester-based distribution house Avocet Sports Limited. The Ludhiana-headquartered operation is leveraging its UK base as a springboard into mainland Europe integrating cycling into major projects involving traffic management, smart cities and carbon emission reduction. ...

India’s First Electric Bike Launched at Auto Expo 2018

8Feb By RishabhNo Comments

Automobile, Tech

India’s First Electric Bike Launched at Auto Expo 2018

Bengaluru based tech startup Emflux Motors has launched India's first electric superbike what they call 'Emflux One' at the Auto Expo 2018 amidst high speed electric cars. The obvious, Kitna deti hai(what is the average and price)? Emflux One is a high-power beauty powered by Samsung's Li-Ion Batteries, that includes the Samsung SDi Cells which gives it a 200 km pump without compromising on acceleration and speed, the company says. The bike is powered by 60 kW AC induction motor, with power limited to 53 kW from the controller, which gives it a speed of 200 kmph (around 124 mph). The bike can reach from 0-100 km/h in just 3 seconds (for techies out there - the motor provides a torque of 84 Nm @ 8400 rpm, which is pretty amazing given it is battery powered). The highway r...