Today, Gogoro released a new line of smart scooters that can be unlocked using an the Wallet app on an iPhone or Apple Watch. These vehicles include the Gogoro SuperSport TCS, Delight, CrossOver, CrossOver S, and Smartscooters.

This is the first time you can use the iPhone’s Wallet to register a scooter. Previously, only cars were able to use this feature. With that in mind, Apple published a support document showing how to register a scooter on the iPhone’s Wallet.

To use a scooter key on your iPhone or Apple Watch, you need:

• A compatible Gogoro scooter.
• An iPhone XS or later with the latest version of iOS. Or an Apple Watch Series 4 or later, or Apple Watch SE with the latest version of watchOS. 
• To be signed in to your device with your Apple ID. 

How to add your Gogoro scooter key to the Wallet app

Image source: Gogoro

If you met all the criteria above, here’s what you need to do:

1. Download the Gogoro app from the App Store and register your scooter.
2. Tap the iQ tab.
3. Tap the scooter key in Apple Wallet, and follow the onscreen instructions. 
4. When you’re sent to the Wallet app, tap Add to continue. 
5. Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.  

Apple says that when you add your scooter key to the Wallet app, Express Mode is turned on automatically. Express Mode allows you to use your key without unlocking your device or authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. 

To save the key on your Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone, tap Wallet & Apple Pay, and tap the Add Button next to your scooter key.

A few other tidbits

How to lock and unlock your scooter: Simply hold your iPhone or Apple Watch near the scooter’s reader to lock or unlock the scooter.

How to start your scooter: Hold your iPhone or Apple Watch near the reader on your scooter to unlock it. Then, hold down the brake and press the GO button. To turn off your scooter, hold down the brake and press the GO button. Hold your device near the reader. 

Share your scooter key: You can share up to five keys per scooter via AirDrop or from messaging apps such as iMessage, Mail, WhatsApp, and more.

1. On your iPhone, open the Wallet app. Then tap your scooter key.
2. Tap the Share button. 
3. Choose how you want to share your key.
4. Set permissions for the shared key and choose whether to require an activation code for extra security. 
5. Tap Continue, and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. 
6. If you opted to require an activation code, it appears after you share the key. Your recipient needs the activation code to add the key to their device. Tap Share to send the code to your recipient or, for maximum security, share it in person or over the phone. 

The post How to add your Gogoro scooter key to iPhone’s Wallet appeared first on BGR.

In the immortal words of DJ Khaled, “Another one.”

In a press release, Lucid Motors became the latest automaker to announce that it will be adopting Tesla’s charging connector in future electric vehicles. Like every other automaker that has made a similar announcement, Lucid currently uses the Combined Charging Standard in its vehicles (CCS) and will be making the switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector in 2025.

In addition, the company will open up its current EV models to Tesla’s Supercharger network through the use of an adapter. The company says that it will be making adapters available to customers so that they can — whether they have NACS or CCS — charge at over 15,000 Tesla Supercharger stations across North America. The adapter will also be released to Lucid owners in 2025.

Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid, said in a statement that the company is making the switch to provide its customers with better access to chargers and see the move as a “crucial step” towards EV adoption in the United States.

“Adopting NACS is an important next step to providing our customers with expanded access to reliable and convenient charging solutions for their Lucid vehicles. We believe that a unified charging standard, backed by the nationwide rollout of future-ready higher-voltage charging stations, will be a critical step in empowering American consumers to adopt electric vehicles.”

Image source: Tesla

Lucid Motors is the latest EV automaker to announce the adoption of Tesla’s NACS connector. In the last few months, Mercedes, Rivian, GM, Polestar, Volvo, Nissan, Fisker, and Jaguar all announced similar deals to adopt the connector. All of those companies not only plan to support the NACS charger, but all will gain access to the extensive Supercharger network as well.

There are few holdouts at this point, and NACS taking over CCS as the default charging standard in North America seems all but certain. Even third-party charging networks like ChargePoint are integrating NACS connectors into their charging stations now.

The post Lucid jumps on board the Tesla NACS train, leaving only a few holdouts appeared first on BGR.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests the Apple Car could still be coming later this decade. The Project Titan has suffered from several drawbacks over the past years. Still, the journalist mentions that not only is Apple readying to enter the mixed reality market with the Vision Pro but the electric vehicle market as well.

Talking about what would be Apple’s upcoming product to help the company restore revenue growth, Gurman says that the mixed reality headset won’t be it, but there’s a chance with the Apple Car. He writes:

“But to truly reinvigorate its business, Apple needs one of its hallmark ‘next big things.’ In that vein, the company is preparing to enter the mixed-reality and electric vehicle markets. A car is still a ways out: The company doesn’t expect to ship anything until later in the decade.”

The last time we heard about the Apple Car was by the end of September. At that time, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the development of this product had lost “all visibility,” with the insider saying he didn’t expect Apple Car to go into mass production within the next few years” – and only a major acquisition could help Cupertino released its long-expected vehicle.

Apple Car seems more unlikely to launch

Over time, BGR reported how many drawbacks and changes in leadership this product had. Five months ago, I wrote that, despite renewed chatter, Apple Car didn’t seem anywhere close to launching.

At the time, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said on CNBC that the only question about the Apple Car is “when, not if” it will launch.

While the Wedbush analyst said the exact same thing in 2021 about Apple entering the electric vehicle market, it seems the Cupertino firm is still struggling with this project. Over almost ten years, BGR has reported on drawbacks, changes in the project’s core, executives departing the company, and the dissolving of an entire team.

Image source: Jonathan S. Geller

At the time, Ives still believed a 2026 announcement was possible, which aligns with what Bloomberg reported at the end of 2022. In March, top insider Ming-Chi Kuo said the team behind the project was dissolved, and it would take up to six months to align expectations and decide what to do next. Now that six months have passed, the project doesn’t look like going anywhere.

That said, little do we really know about the long-rumored Project Titan: a 2026 launch window with a “less ambitious” design, as Apple plans to enter a new market two years after starting selling its spatial computer Vision Pro headset – according to Bloomberg.

BGR’s Yoni Heisler wrote an interesting piece about Apple Car’s future last year. In the article, he brings up something he wrote a long time ago, which still makes sense:

Personally, I don’t think Apple has concrete plans to release a car to production by 2020 or any specific date in the future. Rather, I think Apple has put together a team to explore the possibility of developing a car. More to the point, I think Apple is assembling a group of extremely smart individuals in order to assess the viability of further research. I think Apple’s car ambitions, at this point, represent nothing more than a typical R&D project, albeit on a grander scale.

While Apple is still unsure of what it will announce – or if it will ever announce something on the EV market – we’ll have to wait for future reports. That said, the company should start looking for another source of income, as mixed reality and EV markets won’t be the solution for weakening revenue.

The post Report says Apple Car could be announced before 2030, but I don’t think so appeared first on BGR.

As a Subaru owner, I am especially excited about this latest news.

I am an avid Subaru fan. Yes, I drive my Subaru Crosstrek to REI in my Patagonia jacket. I’m one of those people. However, I’ve been a little peeved that the company has been dragging its feet with announcing support for Tesla’s NACS connector — especially since most of the auto industry has done so. Thankfully, that wait is now over.

In a press release, Subaru became the latest automaker to announce that it will be adopting Tesla’s charging connector in future electric vehicles starting in 2025. In addition, the company will open up its current and future EV models to Tesla’s Supercharger network through the use of an adapter as well.

This means that, whether or not your Subaru EV has CCS or NACS, you’ll be able to charge at over 15,000 Tesla Supercharger stations across North America through either the direct integration or through the use of a CCS to NACS adapter, which the company says it will provide to its customers starting in 2025.

Image source: Tesla

Interestingly, Subaru says that starting in 2025, the NACS connector will be featured on “certain” EVs, indicating that it might still release some models with the CCS port until it is able to fully phase it out. The company says that it is “aiming for 50% of total global sales to be BEVs in 2030” as part of its effort to reach its carbon neutrality goals.

To provide customers with access to the extensive Tesla charging network, Subaru will adopt NACS ports on certain Subaru BEVs launched in North America beginning in 2025 and will continue to advance NACS adoption for its subsequent BEVs to be launched after that.

Subaru is the latest EV automaker to announce the adoption of NACS. In the last few months, Mercedes, Rivian, and GM also announced deals with Tesla to adopt the NACS charging connector and gain access to the Supercharger network over the next few years. All of those companies not only plan to support the NACS charger, but all will gain access to the extensive Supercharger network as well.

Right now, the only EV that Subaru offers is the Solterra. Personally, I’m waiting for the electric Outback. That’s the one vehicle that could compete in my mind with the anticipated Rivian R2. Come on Subaru — let’s get some competition in the electric adventure vehicle space!

The post Subaru is adopting Tesla’s NACS connector and getting access to Superchargers appeared first on BGR.

I definitely didn’t have BP of all companies on the bingo card for buying a ton of Tesla Superchargers.

But, that’s exactly what’s happened. BP, one of the biggest oil companies in the world, is actually making a sizeable investment in renewable energy in the form of a purchase of Tesla’s Supercharger technology. In a press release, the company announced that it has made a $100 million investment in its own charging network that will be powered by Tesla’s Superchargers — a first-of-its-kind deal for Tesla.

The company says that the chargers will be deployed in the United States starting next year. The chargers will be located mostly in major metropolitan areas like Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. They will also start to pop up at Hertz locations for the rental company to support more EVs for its customers.

Image source: Tesla

Richard Bartlett, global CEO of BP Pulse, said in a statement that the investment in Tesla’s Supercharging technology is part of the company’s strategy to build out its charging infrastructure in the United States. The company has already committed to investing $1 billion in its charging infrastructure in the country by 2030.

“Strengthening the bp pulse network with Tesla’s industry-leading hardware is a major step forward in our ambitions for high speed, open access charging infrastructure in the US and advances our ambition to delivering an exceptional customer experience. Combined with our vast network of convenience and mobility sites on and off the highway, this collaboration with Tesla will bring fast and reliable charging to EV drivers when and where they need it.”

Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s Senior Director of Charging Infrastructure, confirmed that “selling our fast-charging hardware is a new step for us” but, by doing so, it will continue to accelerate the company’s mission of transitioning the world to sustainable energy.

“At Tesla, we’re driven to enable great charging experiences for all EV owners. Selling our fast-charging hardware is a new step for us, and one we’re looking to expand in support of our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. We appreciate bp’s partnership in this area – it’s the right step towards a more sustainable future.”   

While this is the first time that Tesla will be providing its Supercharger technology to a whole other company, it is certainly not the first time it is opening up its Superchargers to other companies — specifically, other EV automakers. The company has been signing deals with EV automakers over the last year or so, further cementing its NACS (North American Charging Standard) as the default charging technology in the United States and Canada.

Image source: HIlton

In addition, the company is updating its existing chargers with support for CCS so existing EVs can hook into the network. All of the companies getting access to the charging network have also committed to building their future EVs with Tesla’s NACS charging connector.

It seems that the company is further expanding its influence over the future of EV charging infrastructure with deals like the one announced today with BP. The future is electric and, at least in North America, it seems that all of us will be Tesla customers one way or another — even if we don’t drive one of their cars.

The post BP just bought $100 million worth of Tesla Superchargers to build its own EV network appeared first on BGR.

Right after Cruise announced a huge expansion overseas, its robotaxi service is being shut down in California.

In a statement by the California DMV, the agency announced that it is suspending the company’s self-driving permits in the state “effective immediately.” According to the agency, the service is being shut down in the state due to multiple safety concerns — mainly due to the number of accidents that its self-driving vehicles have been involved in.

The DMV says that “when there is an unreasonable risk to public safety, the DMV can immediately suspend or revoke permits,” indicating that it is able to suspend Cruise’s robotaxi service without any delay. According to the statement, the company is able to reapply for a permit after it has “fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction.”

The California DMV today notified Cruise that the department is suspending Cruise’s autonomous vehicle deployment and driverless testing permits, effective immediately. The DMV has provided Cruise with the steps needed to apply to reinstate its suspended permits, which the DMV will not approve until the company has fulfilled the requirements to the department’s satisfaction. This decision does not impact the company’s permit for testing with a safety driver.

The California DMV says that the company’s permits have been revoked based on the following:

• Based upon the performance of the vehicles, the Department determines the manufacturer’s vehicles are not safe for the public’s operation.
• The manufacturer has misrepresented any information related to safety of the autonomous technology of its vehicles.
• Any act or omission of the manufacturer or one of its agents, employees, contractors, or designees which the department finds makes the conduct of autonomous vehicle testing on public roads by the manufacturer an unreasonable risk to the public.
• The department shall immediately suspend or revoke the Manufacturer’s Testing Permit or a Manufacturer’s Testing Permit – Driverless Vehicles if a manufacturer is engaging in a practice in such a manner that immediate suspension is required for the safety of persons on a public road.

In a statement to The Verge, Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow confirmed that the company is immediately pausing its driverless operations in San Francisco:

“We learned today at 10:30 am PT of the California DMV’s suspension of our driverless permits. As a result, we will be pausing operations of our driverless AVs in San Francisco. Ultimately, we develop and deploy autonomous vehicles in an effort to save lives.”

The news comes a week after the company announced that it is developing a new robotaxi model with GM and Honda that is supposed to launch in Japan in 2026. It’s unclear if this news will impact that plan. It also comes a couple of weeks after Waymo, a competing robotaxi service, expanded its operations in — you guessed it — San Francisco.

The post California DMV suspends Cruise’s robotaxi permits due to safety concerns appeared first on BGR.

I know I’ve been reporting on all of the EV automakers that are jumping on the Tesla NACS train, but this is a big one.

A ton of automakers have announced this year that they will be adopting Tesla’s NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector for their future electric vehicles. All of those companies have also announced deals with Tesla to gain access to the company’s vast Supercharger network.

However, there have been a few big holdouts, one of which has been Toyota. You get where I’m going with this, right? That wait is over. In a press release, Toyota announced that it will become the latest automaker to adopt Tesla’s charging connector in its future electric vehicles starting in 2025. In addition to Toyota, Lexus will also be adopting the port on its EVs starting in 2025 as well. If you aren’t into cars — Toyota owns Lexus.

According to the press release, both EV brands will adopt the NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector on vehicles built for use in North America starting in 2025. In addition to switching from the CCS connector, both company’s EV models will also gain access to Tesla’s 12,000+ Supercharger network starting in the same year. That seems to be the deal for all companies that have announced this, so 2025 is going to be a big deal in the EV world.

In addition to gaining access to Superchargers, Toyota says that it will offer a CCS to NACS adapter to customers who are stuck with a CCS connector on their existing electric vehicle.

Toyota will incorporate the NACS ports into certain Toyota and Lexus BEVs starting in 2025, including the all-new, three-row, battery-electric Toyota SUV that will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK). Additionally, customers owning or leasing applicable Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) will be offered access to an adapter to enable NACS charging starting in 2025.

Toyota is the latest EV automaker to announce the adoption of NACS and access to the Supercharger network. Over the course of this year, other big names like Mercedes, Rivian, GM, Volvo, Nissan, and BMW have all announced similar deals with Tesla. All of those companies not only plan to support the NACS charger, but all will gain access to the extensive Supercharger network as well.

The announcement also came in the same week that ChargePoint, a third-party charging network, revealed that it is rolling out NACS connectors to all of its stations in North America.

The post Toyota and Lexus jump on the NACS train, gaining access to Tesla Superchargers appeared first on BGR.

Robotaxis, robotaxis everywhere!

If you’ve been keeping up with news about self-driving, you’ve likely seen that, while Tesla continues to push its own self-driving technology forward for its FSD Beta customers, other companies like Waymo and Cruise continue to push their own versions of self-driving in the form of robotaxi services. While Elon Musk promises that Tesla vehicles will eventually be able to perform such a robotaxi service — even earning money for their owners when they don’t need the vehicle — Waymo and Cruise still hold that market.

Today, Cruise announced that it is expanding its robotaxi service to a new market: Japan. The company has revealed that it has entered into a new joint venture with both General Motors and Honda to bring the driverless taxi service to the country. Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said in a statement that Japan “represents one of the largest potential autonomous vehicle ride-hail markets in the world.”

“There is an important and growing societal need for safe and accessible transportation in Japan that autonomous vehicles can provide a solution for. In addition to societal impact, the business opportunity is also exciting, as Japan represents one of the largest potential autonomous vehicle ridehail markets in the world, with many dense, highly populated cities that have high transportation needs.”

With GM and Honda, the company is creating a new version of the Cruise Origin, which will hold up to six passengers with “camp-fire seating,” meaning that the seats will be configured in a circle rather than all pointing towards the “driver’s” seat. GM will be manufacturing the vehicles at its Factory ZERO Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant in Michigan and has committed to building 500 of them for the launch of the service. We don’t know much else about the new vehicle yet, so we’ll have to wait until Cruise, GM, and Honda are ready to share more.

GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra basically said in a statement that “the benefits of AVs — from safety to accessibility — are too profound to ignore.”

GM has always been invested in defining the future of transportation and that’s more true today than ever. The benefits of AVs — from safety to accessibility — are too profound to ignore and through this important partnership with Cruise and Honda, we’re bringing forward innovation that leverages our expertise in cutting-edge software and hardware to help more people around the world get where they need to go.

Global CEO of Honda, Toshihiro Mibe, echoed Vogt and Barra, calling the joint venture “a major step toward the realization of an advanced mobility society.”

Honda is striving to create the “joy and freedom of mobility.” Through our driverless ride service with Cruise and GM, we will enable customers in Japan to experience a new value of mobility, improve the quality of their mobility experiences and offer the joy of mobility. This will be a major step toward the realization of an advanced mobility society. Providing this service in central Tokyo where the traffic environment is complex will be a great challenge, however, by working jointly with Cruise and GM, Honda will exert further efforts to make it a reality.

So, when will you be able to catch a Cruise robotaxi making its way through the streets of Tokyo? Unfortunately, the launch is going to take a bit. The company says that its current goal is to start testing in 2025 before officially launching the service in central Tokyo in early 2026, so we all have a bit of a wait before we’re whisked away by the machines.

The announcement comes just over a week after Cruise competitor Waymo announced that it was expanding its own robotaxi service, Waymo One, to San Francisco in the United States. If Tesla is actually to make good on Musk’s promise that you can turn your car into a robotaxi and make money from it, the robotaxi industry is going to absolutely explode. We’ll see what happens!

The post Cruise is developing a new Origin robotaxi that will launch in Tokyo in 2026 appeared first on BGR.

It looks like third-party charging companies are also jumping about the NACS train that continues to pick up steam.

Over the last year, a ton of EV automakers have announced that they will be switching their charging connector from CCS to NACS, the North American Charging Standard that was developed and eventually made available to everyone by Tesla. It feels like each month, another major EV brand announces that they will be using the charging connector in their future EV models.

All of those companies — in addition to announcing support for NACS — have also announced deals with Tesla to use the company’s Supercharger network. All of those changes — between adopting the NACS charger and gaining access to Tesla’s charging network — are set to kick in starting in 2025.

Image source: Tesla

But what about all of the other charging networks that exist in North America? Well, they are also making the switch to NACS. In a press release, EV charging company ChargePoint has announced that they are starting to roll out NACS chargers to their stations starting this year. The company says that most of its existing chargers will be updated with NACS connectors “over the coming month” and that “cable conversion kits for existing DC fast chargers will be delivered to customers in November.”

Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint, revealed in a statement that the company has already seen Tesla owners charge their vehicles at its stations over 35 million times — even though they have had to do so through the use of a CCS to NACS adapter.

“With more than 35 million historical ChargePoint sessions initiated by Tesla vehicles, we saw the need to offer native connector solutions for this large portion of the EV market. Our support for both installed and new products opens up ChargePoint’s DC chargers to millions of drivers who have not yet had a fast charging alternative to the Tesla ecosystem, and makes their AC charging experience more convenient.”

The company says that, once it rolls out NACS across its charging stations, it will offer “every necessary cable solution to charge an EV in North America and Europe.”

The news comes a day after BMW announced that it was making the switch to NACS across its cars as well as models from Mini and Rolls-Royce, which BMW owns. Like everyone else, the company says that the first EVs with NACS will be on vehicles manufactured in 2025. In the last few months, Mercedes, Rivian, GM, Polestar, Volvo, Nissan, Fisker, and Jaguar have all announced similar deals with Tesla.

It’s great to see third-party charging companies like ChargePoint getting ahead of the game and adding support for NACS right away. This will no doubt make Tesla owners happy today and also quell some level of range anxiety for those thinking about buying an EV and wanting to ensure the chargers around them have the connector they want.

The post ChargePoint begins rollout of NACS, opening up native support to Tesla owners appeared first on BGR.

It feels like the number of EV brands that haven’t committed to Tesla’s NACS charger is now less than those that have.

In a press release, BMW announced that it will become the latest automaker to adopt Tesla’s charging connector in its future electric vehicles. Best yet, BMW isn’t the only brand to be making the switch. The company is also the parent of both Mini and Rolls-Royce, and BMW says that both of those brands will be making the switch as well.

According to the press release, all three EV brands will adopt the NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector on vehicles built for use in North America (United States and Canada) starting in 2025. In addition to switching from the CCS connector, BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce models will also gain access to Tesla’s 12,000+ Supercharger network in 2025.

In a continued effort to provide the best possible electric vehicle charging experience for its customers, BMW of North America and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA announced today that drivers of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Combined Charging System (CCS) battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the U.S. and Canada will gain access to designated Tesla Supercharger stations in early 2025.

In addition to gaining access to Superchargers, BMW says that it will enable customers to find Supercharger stations on the display in their vehicle and even pay for charging through their own app rather than having to download the Tesla app.

Interestingly, the press release does not mention if existing BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce EVs will gain access to the Supercharger network via a CCS to NACS adapter. Quite a few companies have explicitly stated either providing an adapter to customers (either for free or at a cost) but BMW makes no mention of their plan here. I have reached out for clarification and will update this article if I hear back.

Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO of BMW of North America, said in a statement that the company plans to continue to expand the six electric vehicles across its three brands, saying there are “more to come.”

“With six fully electric BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce models now available in the U.S. market, and more to come, it is our top priority to ensure that our drivers have easy access to reliable, fast charging. This agreement is the latest in our longstanding and continued effort to expand charging options for our customers as we continue on the road to electrification.”

BMW is the latest EV automaker to announce the adoption of NACS and access to the Supercharger network. In the last few months, Mercedes, Rivian, GM, Polestar, Volvo, Nissan, Fisker, and Jaguar have all announced similar deals with Tesla. All of those companies not only plan to support the NACS charger, but all will gain access to the extensive Supercharger network as well.

Personally, I’m holding out on buying an EV until 2025 due to waiting for the NACS alone. It seems that those who pick one up now — and end up with a CCS connector — will be like those still stuck with an iPhone with a Lightning connector in a few years. It’ll still technically work, but it will feel like being stuck in the past while everyone else is in the USB-C future.

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