Latest news with #electrictransport
Free Malaysia Today
02-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Dubai aims to beat the traffic with 2026 Joby air taxi liftoff
Joby Aviation conducted the first test flight of its fully-electric air taxi in the emirate this week. (Joby Aviation pic) DUBAI : Dubai commuters may soon have a new way to skip traffic: air taxis. Joby Aviation conducted the first test flight of its fully-electric air taxi in the emirate this week, a major milestone in the city's efforts to integrate airborne transport into existing mobility networks as early as next year. Joby hopes its air-taxis will ease pressure on existing ground transportation and offer travelers a faster alternative as Dubai faces increasing congestion. 'We want to change the way people commute,' Anthony Khoury, Joby's UAE general manager said. A journey from Dubai's main airport DXB to Palm Jumeirah aboard the Joby Aerial Taxi will take roughly 12 minutes, the company predicts, as opposed to 45 minutes by car. While Joby's long-term ambition is to make its aerial taxis 'affordable for everybody to use,' Khoury says, they acknowledge early pricing will likely target higher-income travelers. 'As with any novel technology, early days might be a bit more premium,' Khoury said. The demonstration flight was held yesterday at an isolated desert site southeast of Dubai's downtown and was designed to emulate a typical aerial taxi journey, according to Joby Aviation officials. In a ceremony attended by senior government officials, transport executives and company representatives, the experimental aircraft executed a vertical takeoff, flew for several miles, and then returned for a vertical landing. The Joby Aerial Taxi, the flagship electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developed by the California-based company, can fly distances of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) at speeds reaching 320km/hr (200mph). Fully electric, with zero operating emissions, Joby's air-taxi is designed to be both eco-friendly and quiet enough for commercial use in dense urban areas. 'It will be flying in the city, next to residential areas, and hopefully people will barely notice it,' Khoury said. While eVTOLs such as Joby's have been hailed as the future of urban air the industry still faces major hurdles – including securing regulatory approval and developing sufficient vertiport infrastructure. Morgan Stanley downgraded Joby's stock price target from US$10 to US$7 in April, flagging near-term execution risks and broader aerospace industry concerns, including tariffs and supply-chain issues. Joby is currently trading at US$10.55. In early 2024, Joby signed a contract with Dubai's Roads and Transit Authority that awarded the company exclusive rights to operate aerial taxis in the city for the next six years. The company plans to inaugurate the emirate's commercial air-taxi service in 2026, with four initial vertiports located at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Downtown and Dubai Marina. 'In aviation, you don't see transformations like this,' said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby's president of original equipment manufacturing. 'Every once in a while, you have this propulsive move into the future. 'What you're witnessing here is really exciting, and I'm excited for you to be riding this one point in the future,' Papadopoulos said.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Einride unveils first-of-its-kind study quantifying the impact of AI-powered electrification planning
Developed with leading research institute Fraunhofer ISI using real-world logistics data from Einride customer REWE, the study confirms that optimized digital planning unlocks higher electrification rates, greater fleet utilization, and 8-13%* lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Einride's Planning AI drives the study's results by optimizing fleet operations, boosting electrification, and reducing costs through integrating route and charge planning at the fleet level STOCKHOLM, June 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Einride, a technology company that provides digital, electric and autonomous solutions for road freight, today unveiled the results of a first-of-its-kind study conducted in collaboration with the renowned German research institute Fraunhofer ISI. By using AI-powered planning tools, the study is the first to quantify how re-optimizing transport planning at the fleet level, rather than simply swapping diesel to electric truck-by-truck, is the key to making electric transport scalable and cost-effective. Einride and Fraunhofer ISI analyzed more than 38,000 shipments and operational patterns of over 200 vehicles operating for leading grocery retailer REWE, serving more than 500 sites within a 230 km radius from two distribution centers in the Berlin area, Germany. "With this study, we're not just saying AI will transform freight, we're proving it with data. Quantifying the impact of AI-powered planning marks a critical step forward for the industry and underscores Einride's leadership in building scalable, intelligent transport systems," said Roozbeh Charli, CEO at Einride. "By unlocking these insights today, we're laying the groundwork for advancements that will shape the next chapter of future-proofed freight." At the core of these results is Einride's advanced Planning AI engine built into its software platform, that rethinks how freight is planned and executed. Unlike standard approaches in the industry that attempt to replace diesel trucks with electric trucks one-to-one, Planning AI integrates vehicle characteristics, energy constraints, and real-world shipment data to create highly coordinated schedules for all assets in the system. The technology boosts asset utilization, optimizes charging and enables scalable, cost-effective electric operations that outperform the industry standard by taking a fleet-wide perspective. Key findings from the study include: AI-powered planning drives deeper electrification: Using Einride's Planning AI, electric trucks were able to handle up to 85% of total payload and 54% of total mileage which significantly outperformed the 1:1 replacement approach, which reached 57% and 32% respectively. Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through intelligent operations: The replanned system achieved 8-13% reductions depending on the baseline* in fleet-level TCO compared to all-diesel operations. The 1:1 replacement approach yielded 3% savings which turned out to be highly dependent on CAPEX subsidies. Charging investments made more effective: Installing 150 kW fast chargers at loading bays reduced costs for both approaches, but fleets optimized with Planning AI relied less on this costly infrastructure to reach high electrification and cost-efficiency. Resilience in uncertain economic conditions: Even in scenarios without CAPEX subsidies for electric vehicles, fleets planned with Einride's technology maintained strong electrification rates and cost parity with diesel-only operations, proving AI-based planning can mitigate market volatility and policy shifts. "The study makes an important scientific contribution to advancing the decarbonization of road freight transport. As an innovation-friendly company, REWE is proud to support corresponding initiatives and research, " said Dr. Fabian Nevries, Head of Transport Innovation & Technology at REWE. "Economic efficiency is ultimately the key prerequisite for the sustainable transformation of truck fleets and at REWE, we continue to closely monitor and support the development of technologies and solutions in this area." "The results of our study make it clear that if fleet operators switch entirely or partially to electric trucks, they should also optimize their routes to save costs and operate their truck fleets as efficiently as possible. Appropriate planning software that integrates route and charging planning at the fleet level has a significantly greater impact than, for example, increasing battery sizes or the uncoordinated expansion of charging infrastructure," said Prof. Dr. Patrick Plötz, Head of Energy Economics business unit at Fraunhofer ISI. The full published study can be found at The study was carried out as part of the Swedish innovation project Regional Electrified Logistics REEL, funded by the Swedish program FFI, Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation. *8% compared to optimized diesel baseline, 13% compared to estimated historical diesel baseline Contact: press@ This information was brought to you by Cision The following files are available for download: Einride Planning AI Study REWE Einride Planning AI Study Einride Planning AI Study REWE 2 View original content: SOURCE Einride Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Scania readies 2 bln euro China hub, eyeing Asian growth
SAO PAULO, May 26 (Reuters) - Swedish truck brand Scania will launch its 2 billion-euro ($2.28 billion) Chinese production hub in October, its third global manufacturing base alongside facilities in Sweden and Brazil, Chief Executive Christian Levin said in an interview. The new Chinese factory will eventually reach a production capacity of 50,000 vehicles — nearly double what Scania's Brazilian plant produced last year — while boosting demand for parts made in South America, said Levin, who also runs group Traton ( opens new tab, whose portfolio includes the brands Scania, MAN, International, and Volkswagen Truck & Bus. Scania is also kicking off a new four-year investment cycle in Brazil, which became its second hub after Sweden in the late 1950s, with 2 billion reais ($350 million) of capital spending at its local hub, based in Sao Paulo state, by 2028. Part of the investment is going to initiatives concerning clean transportation, including electrification With its main production hubs in Europe and South America, offering the same products in different geographies, Scania has been able to expand its presence in several parts of the world. "It has made us very strong in Latin America and Europe, but we are quite weak in Asia," Levin said. "If a customer in Asia wants to buy a Scania, they have to get it from Europe or Brazil, which means a wait of maybe six or seven months." Setting up in the Chinese market also gives Scania access to the next generation of transportation technology in China. "So we want to tap into that," he said. "We want to be part of the ecosystem, we want to be close to the competition." Scania's big bet on China comes amid rising trade tensions with the United States, which Levin called "detrimental to the world overall." "It goes away from the world order and from free trade as a fundamental mechanism to make the world richer and a better place to live in," he said. By contrast, Levin was optimistic about the prospects for regional trade bloc Mercosur, comprised of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, which is looking to ratify a new trade agreement with the European Union, finalized in December talks. "Now if Mercosur is really coming back, it will make us even stronger."
