This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for December 9, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Today, Ford and Renault Group announced a new alliance to develop electric passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. The initial goal is two new Ford-branded electric cars using the platform from Renault's Ampere unit. Ampere was established as a business unit to focus on developing and manufacturing software-defined EV platforms. The a

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  December 8, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Hybrids have never been a significant part of Nissan's overall powertrain strategy, with the automaker focusing more on battery electrics with the launch of the original Leaf in late 2010. But even with the initial success of the Leaf, Nissan did little to expand its EV lineup in the 2010s. Meanwhile, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai Motor Gro

Newly Approved Female Crash Test Dummy Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the National Highway Traffic Administration has approved new specifications for a female crash test dummy — its first update in over 20 years. Despite this "progress," NHSTA likely won't begin using her until 2027 or 2028. And a spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety told the New York Times that their group doesn't have any plans to adopt her. One lingering concern:

A decade ago, it was looking like a lot of companies were making rapid progress on maturing automated driving technology. Executives of companies like Uber and Lyft, Wall Street financial analysts, and Elon Musk and his rabid fan base got overly excited about the prospect of printing mountains of money by simply eliminating the highest cost in ride-hailing: paying the driver. However, as usual, it was never going to be that simple. Waymo has by far the largest robotaxi operat

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  December 1, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Much has changed at Stellantis in the past 12 months. Exactly one year ago, Carlos Tavares was ousted as CEO at the automaker that he formed from the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA. Over the preceding four years, over 50,000 jobs were eliminated at the company, many of them in North America, where spending was being sla

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  November 26, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   The European New Car Assessment Program, or EuroNCAP, was launched in 1996 to evaluate the safety capabilities of new vehicles and provide a rating system for consumers who are shopping for a vehicle. Like the U.S. NCAP and IIHS Top Safety Pick programs, EuroNCAP periodically updates the evaluation process, raising the bar as most vehic

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for November 25, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   When BMW launched the i3 Rex back in 2013, it was just the second extended range electric vehicle or EREV produced following the Fisker Karma. EREVs differ from plug-in hybrids in that the torque output of the engine only drives a generator to charge the battery and has no direct path to drive the wheels. The vehicle is exclusively drive

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  November 24, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Anyone who has paid any attention to the history of the automotive industry is well aware of the fact that the vast majority of the automakers that have ever existed have gone out of business. This was especially true in the early decades of the industry in the late 19th and early 20th century when there were thousands of startup automa

Nissan Introduces Its First Plug-In Hybrid in the U.S. Nissan introduced the new 2026 Rogue Plug-In Hybrid this week, marking the brand's first PHEV for American buyers. It's designed to "meet the needs of modern families," and offers 38 miles of electric-only driving range for short trips and an estimated 420 miles of total range with its full hybrid powertrain. The Rogue PHEV will be on display at the LA Auto Show from November 21st to 30th.  Audi to Build SUV at Scout Faci

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  November 19, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, Jeep has finally launched its first fully electric off-road SUV, the 2026 Recon. The Recon, along with the Wagoneer S, was actually first shown in images back in 2022, and it got quite a bit of interest. Since then, the media have seen it in physical form at private events, and prototypes have been sp

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  November 18, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Nissan was the pioneer in bringing a relatively affordable electric vehicle to market when it launched the Leaf back in 2010. However, since then, its electrification efforts have remained relatively modest, especially in North America. Prior to the 2023 debut of the Ariya, the only electrified models sold besides the Leaf were an Altim

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for  November 17, 2025, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.   Back in 2006, when Tesla emerged from stealth mode to reveal the original Roadster, there was a key differentiator that helped establish the brand and start to convince people that electric vehicles could be appealing on their own merits. It was fast, in fact, it was very fast for the time, with a 0-60 time of just 4 seconds while also