
Shift: A podcast about mobility
On Shift: A podcast about mobility, Automotive News tech and innovation team leader Pete Bigelow takes an optimistic yet skeptical eye at the new tech and business models planned for the auto industry. Shift is a production of Automotive News, the leading publication covering the auto industry. Check out our reporting online at autonews.com/shift and follow us on Twitter @Automotive_News.
Latest episodes

Dec 15, 2024 • 42min
Gartner’s Mike Ramsey sorts through the Cruise rubble (episode 280)
The vice president at consulting firm Gartner, Inc. analyses General Motors’ decision to abandon robotaxi development and pivot its Cruise subsidiary toward personally owned vehicles. Further, he discusses the steep challenges legacy automakers like GM face in sustaining big technology bets.

Dec 8, 2024 • 42min
How a ‘mobility czar’ could bolster transportation innovation
Mobility strategist Selika Josiah Talbott and Michigan chief mobility officer Justine Johnson detail the prospect of a ‘mobility czar’ overseeing policy for autonomous and electric vehicles. Further, they discuss the role states can play in fostering innovation amid a changing federal landscape.

Dec 1, 2024 • 47min
Bot Auto’s Xiaodi Hou takes his second stab at self-driving trucks (episode 278)
The founder and CEO of Bot Auto showcases his new startup, recounts his fraught experience at TuSimple and explains what it really takes to ensure self-driving trucks are profitable. Bonus: He details his passion for music, from classical to Judas Priest.

Nov 24, 2024 • 49min
Croft’s Roderick Blevins foments a ‘hydrogen rebellion’ (episode 277)
The co-founder and CEO of startup Croft unveils plans for a hydrogen-powered pickup truck, details new technology that circumvents an intractable infrastructure barrier, and explains how a hydrogen movement comprised of “gearheads, rednecks and mad scientists” can help sustain the legacy of the automobile.

Nov 17, 2024 • 31min
GlobalData’s Jeff Schuster on potential EV incentive, tariff changes under Trump (episode 276)
Product planning will be difficult for automakers amid a changeover in the White House, said Jeff Schuster, global vice president of automotive research at GlobalData. He outlines the incoming Trump administration’s potential impact on electrification, affordability, automaker plant utilization and more.

Nov 10, 2024 • 35min
LG Technology Ventures’ Sungkwon Kang warns of battery-investment headwinds (episode 275)
The investment director at the LG Group’s venture capital arm discusses the investment atmosphere for battery startups, the race to develop low-cost battery chemistries and promising stationary energy storage developments.

Nov 3, 2024 • 50min
Bryant Walker Smith examines the state of the self-driving industry
The University of South Carolina professor and autonomous-driving safety expert discusses Tesla’s Cybercab rollout, Waymo’s growing operations, and how self-driving rules, regulations and laws might be shaped by upcoming elections.

Oct 27, 2024 • 36min
ZEI’s John Motlow on solving hydrogen infrastructure challenges
The chief strategy officer at Zero Emission Industries details the startup’s work in developing a suitcase-sized device that functions as a portable hydrogen fueling station. Further, he discusses ZEI’s work in pioneering hydrogen fuel-cell systems for first-of-their-kind maritime applications.

Oct 20, 2024 • 43min
Looking at how the election outcome might sway U.S. transportation policy
Mobility expert Selika Josiah Talbott and SkillFusion CEO Elaina Farnsworth offer a pragmatic look at how the 2024 election results could bolster mobility innovation, affect the zero-emission transition and impact the American workforce of the future.

Oct 13, 2024 • 37min
Sion Power’s Pam Fletcher | EV Adoption’s Loren McDonald
Pam Fletcher, a former leader at General Motors and Delta Air Lines, discusses her move to the battery startup world as CEO of Sion Power. Then Loren McDonald, CEO of analyst firm EV Adoption, provides a status report on the rollout of federally backed EV chargers.
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