Shift: A podcast about mobility

Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery, propulsion and sustainability at General Motors, discusses a flurry of recent battery developments that underscore the automaker’s long-term electric vehicle outlook.

They include a new foray into energy storage systems alongside Redwood Materials, for which GM will provide both new and second-life batteries, production plans for lithium iron phosphate batteries with Ultium Cells in Spring Hill...

Siyu Huang, founder and CEO of Factorial Energy, provides updates on the company’s ongoing work with Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai, and details the company’s efforts in developing solid-state batteries that allow for much faster electric vehicle charging times.

She discusses what the end of federal tax credits will mean for EV sales and the expected trickle-down fallout on battery startups.

Further, Huang explains why Factori...

Lankton, chief commercial officer at Redwood Materials, details why the company just opened its Redwood Energy business unit and how it is repurposing used electric-vehicle batteries in energy storage systems. 

He discusses Redwood’s first major project, a system that utilizes more than 700 used EV battery packs that’s already the largest microgrid in North America. That system powers an AI data center at a Redwood facility in Spark...

Michael Dunne, CEO and founder of advisory firm Dunne Insights, details how Chinese automotive startups like BYD asserted dominance over Detroit’s legacy carmakers. 

He explores Ford CEO Jim Farley’s effusive praise of Chinese automakers during the recent Aspen Ideas Festival and the difficulty legacy automakers have in keeping pace with clean-sheet tech startups.

Finally, Dunne discusses a workaround that American consumers might ut...

Jeremy Bird, executive vice president of driver experience at Lyft, explains how the company is working with Mobileye, May Mobility and others to launch robotaxis in the near term.

He explores the complementary and competitive aspects of relationships between ride-hailing networks and self-driving tech providers, and the pricing differences between human-driven and automated rides. 

Further, Bird addresses how Lyft’s human drivers fe...

Kathleen Rizk, senior director in J.D. Power’s global automotive practice, and Lisa Boor, senior manager in the firm’s mobility benchmarking unit, address consumer confusion in the realm of driver-assist systems.

They detail their latest consumer surveys, which reveal motorists do not find many driver-assist features useful and are unsure if these systems benefit safety or convenience.

Rizk and Boor explore what that means for automa...

From his time inside a robotaxi startup, Alex Roy knows what it really takes to build a business around self-driving technology.

The venture-capital partner, business advisor, podcast host and founder of the Human Driving Association examines Tesla’s pending robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, and discusses whether robotaxis can become a profitable business.

He further discusses the capability of Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” software, c...

The founder and co-director of MIT’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium, Bryan Reimer, says the auto industry has been distracted by the allure of highly automated driving and should place short-term focus on developing smarter collaborations between motorists and machines.

Reimer further explores the nuances involved in distracted driving discussions and the business models associated with fully autonomous driving. Finally, as ...

Bob Lee, the North American president of LG Energy Solution, details how the ongoing tariff turmoil has both helped and hindered the company’s long-term planning efforts.

He details how the company’s decision to invest in a variety of battery chemistries, produced at eight different North American factories, has brought a growing number of interested customers, despite a more tepid electric vehicle market. Further, he discusses what...

Steven Jenkins, vice president of technology strategy at Magna Electronics, discusses how partnerships with the likes of Nvidia spur progress and sophistication in driver-assistance systems.

Further, he explains how suppliers remain central in the commercialization of vehicles while working with tech companies and traditional automakers.

Finally, he offers firsthand observations on China’s automated-driving future, and shares thought...

Grayson Brulte, founder and CEO of The Road to Autonomy, discusses recent developments in autonomous driving, including Sterling Anderson’s departure from Aurora for a new job at General Motors.

Brulte details Aurora’s driverless launch and a short-seller report that has since detoured the self-driving truck startup.

He further surveys Waymo’s progress, sizes up Tesla as a potential robotaxi rival and — finally — ponders a doomsday s...

The executive vice president and chief technology officer at Oshkosh Corp. details the company’s efforts to infuse automated driving technology into work vehicles with niche applications.

Those applications range from airport baggage trolleys to garbage trucks — and even autonomous garbage cans that bring themselves to and from the curb. Iyengar explains the compelling business propositions behind those products.

Further, she outline...

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence principal analyst Bryan Bille assesses policy changes in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term that affect critical mineral developments, batteries and the electric vehicle supply chain.

Amid tariffs and a geopolitical rivalry with China as the backdrop, Bille compares and contrasts Trump’s plans to develop domestic mining and processing options with those of former President Joe B...

Fischer, vice president of commercial and operations, discusses the tech startup’s new partnership with Nissan, which is Wayve’s first public tie-up with a global automaker.

She details how Wayve’s end-to-end AI models help drive the company’s ability to rapidly scale, deliver on its global aspirations and forge an “AV 2.0″ era. Further, she discusses the allure of Level 3 automation and talks about what it’s like to transition from...

On this week’s podcast, the chief technology officer and director of Woven by Toyota details the latest developments at Woven City, the company’s technology and mobility test bed located at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan.

He discusses Woven’s ongoing work with the Arene operating system and its role in accelerating the maturity of software-defined vehicles. Further, Absmeier explains Woven’s self-driving strategy and how it fits wi...

This week’s Shift podcast features multiple interviews regarding news developments shared at Nvidia’s GTC, a prominent conference for developers sharing their latest artificial intelligence innovations.

In this episode:

Nvidia automotive Vice President Ali Kani discusses the company’s new partnership with General Motors and delves deeper into the tech giant’s long-term automotive strategy.

Wayve CEO Alex Kendall takes us for a spin ar...