State Of Mobility Report: Investment & Sector Trends To Watch

Despite a weaker start to the year, auto & mobility finished 2020 on a strong note. In particular, companies addressing electrification and autonomy drew significant interest from investors in the back half of the year as sentiment improved.

In this report, we dig into trends including zero-emission logistics and automotive e-commerce and cover secular tailwinds and headwinds that will impact auto & mobility companies in 2021.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Funding to the broader auto & mobility sector fell slightly in 2020: Funding was down 5% year-over-year (YoY) to $27.6B after falling 20% in 2019, while deals fell 21% in 2020 YoY to 522, the second consecutive annual drop. Despite a weaker start to the year, in part driven by the pandemic, activity picked up in H2 as companies addressing electrification and autonomy drew significant interest from investors.
2. Exits reached a new peak in 2020 at 107, with 22 SPAC deals across auto & mobility: Electric vehicle (EV) companies led the SPAC lineup, comprising 58% of 2020’s total deals.
3. Covid-19 temporarily reeled back deal activity: Investors scaled back funding in Q2’20 as the impact of the pandemic set in. That said, deal activity and funding both recovered in H2’20 as sentiment improved and investors saw fresh opportunities in commercial vehicles and logistics.
4. North America’s share of auto & mobility deals is slipping: Asia and Europe are gaining deal share over time, as the regulatory backdrop for electrification and micromobility remains more favorable in developed nations outside the US. Europe’s deal share rose to 25% from 22% in 2019, while North America’s deal share fell for the fourth consecutive year to 32%, and Asia’s fell slightly to 39% from 41% the year prior. 
5. Auto & mobility unicorns born in 2020 span multiple verticals: Of the 8 unicorns born in 2020, 4 operate in auto commerce (Cars24, Creditas, Kavak, Socar), 1 focuses on electric vehicles (Cazoo), 2 work on autonomous vehicle (AV) training (Applied Intuition, Scale AI), and 1 operates in the ride-hailing space (Via Transportation).