BOSTON, November 9, 2021 / PRNewswire / – Motional, a global leader in driverless technology, and Lyft, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYFT) today announced the planned launch of a fully driverless public rideshare service in. known Las Vegas, the first city in a multimarket deployment. Motionals next-generation robot axis that fully electric Hyundai IONIQ 5-based Robotaxi, is displayed in the Lyft app in. be available Las Vegas, starting in 2023. The deployment is part of a landmark partnership between Motional and Lyft announced last year.
For the first time, the service will bring fully driverless cars to the public for use in a ride-hailing service Nevada. Founded by Aptiv in 2018 and now called Motional, the company has operated with Lyft in. a public self-drive service Las Vegas for over three years. The 2023 deployment marks a significant expansion, will use Motional’s next generation Robotaxi and will be the first time passengers experience a fully driverless Lyft and Motional ride. With plans to roll out in multiple markets, the service is also scalable, positioning both Motional and Lyft to bring driverless technology to millions of drivers in the future.
President and CEO of Motional Karl Iagnemma said the announcement marks an important milestone between the two companies. “Motional and Lyft pioneered the collaboration between the ride-hail and driverless industries and are now laying the groundwork for the large-scale deployment of driverless robotic axes,” said Iagnemma. “We look forward to starting this next chapter in Las Vegas, and then quickly scaled to other markets on the Lyft network. “
“Lyft’s powerful network is the ideal platform for deploying autonomous vehicles on a large scale. Motional’s driverless technology combined with Lyft’s marketplace engine leads us firmly into the self-driving future, ”said Lyft Co-Founder and CEO Logan Green. “We can’t wait to see the drivers in Las Vegas to be the first to conjure up completely driverless cars on the Lyft platform. “
The journey to a launch in 2023
Motional and Lyft are working closely in the lead up to the 2023 commercial launch, iterating all aspects of the delivery and driving experience (UX). This also includes the transport of passengers with the next generation Robotaxi from Motional, the Robotaxi IONIQ 5 from the second half of 2022. In this first phase, the drivers will experience their entire journey autonomously, including getting into the vehicle and taking off the journey and request assistance. This allows Motional and Lyft to receive driver feedback, refine the UX as intuitively as possible, and much more.
The Robotaxi IONIQ 5 was developed in a strategic collaboration between Motional and Hyundai, is designed for safe operation without a driver and has improved safety and reliability functions. It will be motional second driverless vehicle on public roadsmaking the company one of the few industry leaders to operate a second generation driverless platform.
Motional and Lyft put legacy in. away Las Vegas
Integrating driverless vehicles into a ride-hailing network and effectively deploying them is an inherently complex process that requires close collaboration between the Robotaxi fleet provider (Motional) and the network (Lyft). As the operator of the world’s most established public self-drive service (Las Vegas; 2018-present) Motional and Lyft have over three years of experience optimizing this service, which is a unique advantage in the driverless industry.
Las Vegas is the first city in the driverless multimarket deployment of Motional and Lyft to offer an exciting opportunity. The dynamic city receives over 40 million visitors annually and is home to some of the world’s largest entertainment, business and trade events. Motional’s robotic taxis will provide safe and reliable transportation for these millions of visitors Las Vegas Parishioners.
Today’s announcement comes as a new study confirms Americans’ interest in driverless technology. More than a third of respondents believe they will have ridden in a driverless vehicle within five years, and more than half believe AVs could have a positive impact on their community 1. Motional and Lyft believe multimodal ridesharing networks unite Improved and safer transportation can provide options for millions of Americans and look forward to making that future a reality.
The companies will provide further details on the launch next year. For more information on Motional and Lyft, see www.Motional.com/news and www.lyft.com/blog.
About Lyft
Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) was founded in 2012 and is one of the largest transportation networks in The United States and Canada. As the world shifts from car ownership to transportation-as-a-service, Lyft is at the forefront of this massive social change. Our transport network combines carpooling, bicycles, scooters, car rentals and public transport in one app. Our mission is unique: to improve people’s lives using the world’s best transportation.
About Motional
Motional is a driverless technology company that is making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. The company was founded in 2020 as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers offering intelligent mobility solutions, and Aptiv, a global industrial technology leader in advanced safety, electrification and vehicle connectivity.
The Motional team has made some of the biggest leaps in the industry, including the first fully autonomous cross-country drive in the US, the launch of the world’s first Robotaxi pilot, and the operation of the world’s most established public Robotaxi fleet that has operated over 100,000 public drives.
Motional develops SAE Level 4 Robotaxis – autonomous vehicles that take on all driving tasks – for Robotax providers and fleet operators.
Motional is headquartered in Boston and operates in the United States and Asia. For more informations,
visit www.Motional.com and keep following us Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.
1 Motionals second annual Consumer Mobility Report; independent research carried out in August 2021.
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SOURCE Motional
