Thor Trucks Named Grand Prize Winner Of AutoMobility LA's 2018 Top Ten Automotive Startups™ Competition

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Organizers of the Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show®) and AutoMobility LA™ today announced that Thor Trucks has been selected as the grand prize winner of its fifth annual Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition™ (Top Ten), presented by Plug and Play and SiriusXM Connected Vehicles. With Audi and URBAN-X – built by MINI and Urban Us – as supporting sponsors, this year's Top Ten winner received $15,000 in cash and global industry recognition.

Thor Trucks was named one of this year's Top Ten startups after being selected from hundreds of applicants, because of the company's electric fleet management solutions. After making it to the Top Three alongside an exceptional group of innovative startups from around the world, including CARMERA and what3words, Thor Trucks was chosen as this year's winner following an impressive pitch session that took place live on-stage during AutoMobility LA in front of the judges. The esteemed panel of judges were comprised of AutoMobility LA's executive team, and leaders from major companies in the mobility space, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Plug and Play, Porsche Consulting, Sansea Consulting, and Sirius XM Connected Vehicles.  

Thor Trucks is an electric mobility company focusing on fleet management with first-hand knowledge of the difficulties experienced running diesel fleet vehicle operations, which include maintenance, and outdated hardware. In response to those challenges, Thor Trucks built the first viable medium- to heavy-duty truck mobility platform, which is affordable and easy to adopt. What differentiates them is their tailored battery design, dynamic platform, and chassis configurations, and holistic delivery model. Thor Trucks has pre-production vehicles collecting data on the road currently, and will officially begin production in Q1 2019.

"Thor Trucks has proven itself among some extremely distinguished competitors and we are excited to announce them as the winner of our 2018 Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition," said Manuela Papadopol, CEO of Designated Driver and AutoMobility LA Advisory Board member. "The Top Ten competition is one that continues to grow and we are always impressed by the number of submissions received every year. We are happy to have a competition that helps promising startups continue to advance in in the new mobility industry."

All Top Ten Automotive Startups finalists were recognized at AutoMobility LA in front of media and industry professionals from around the world including automakers, tech executives, designers, developers, investors, dealers, government officials, analysts, fellow startups and more.  

To learn more about this year's Top Ten finalists, get additional information on LA Auto Show's AutoMobility LA or to register, please visit AutoMobilityLA.com.

About the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobility LA

Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show®) is the first major North American auto show of the season each year.  In 2016, the show's Press & Trade Days merged with the Connected Car Expo (CCE) to become AutoMobility LA^TM, the industry's first trade show converging the technology and automotive sectors to launch new products and technologies and to discuss the most pressing issues surrounding the future of transportation and mobility. AutoMobility LA 2018 will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center Nov. 26-29, with manufacturer vehicle debuts intermixed. LA Auto Show 2018 will be open to the public Nov. 30-Dec. 9.  AutoMobility LA is where the new auto industry gets business done, unveils groundbreaking new products and makes strategic announcements in front of media and industry professionals from around the globe.  LA Auto Show is endorsed by the Greater L.A. New Car Dealer Association and is operated by ANSA Productions.  To receive the latest show news and information, follow the LA Auto Show on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and sign up for alerts at http://www.laautoshow.com/. For more information about AutoMobility LA, please visit http://www.automobilityla.com/ and follow AutoMobility LA on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Listen to past panels, interviews, and keynotes on AutoMobility LA's new podcast at http://automobilityla.com/podcast/.

Media Contacts:
Sanaz Marbley/Devon Zahm
JMPR Public Relations, Inc.
(818) 992-4353
smarbley@jmpr.com
dzahm@jmpr.com

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SOURCE Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobility LA