Mercedes-Benz, Momenta and Lumo have announced the launch of their luxury robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi. The fleet, based on the latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class, is planned to begin formal operations next year, with future expansion to additional global markets.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class robotaxi – the industry’s first scalable luxury model on a series production vehicle platform – sets a new global benchmark by fusing the brand’s signature experience with cutting-edge SAE Level 4 technology and Lumo’s mature local taxi ecosystem.
Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, advisor to the UAE president for strategic research and advanced technology affairs and secretary general of ATRC, said, “This partnership between Mercedes, Momenta and Lumo reflects the highest standards of engineering and autonomous intelligence. Bringing these strengths together here in the UAE is no coincidence — the nation offers the ideal environment to test, refine and showcase the future of mobility. Nowhere else in the world provides the same clarity of vision, speed of execution and commitment to innovation.”
Jörg Burzer, chief technology officer of Mercedes-Benz, added, “With a robotaxi S-Class, we raise the bar for automated mobility – always combining safety and comfort to set new standards for the industry and intelligent transportation worldwide. All our activities in that field underline Mercedes-Benz’s pioneering role in autonomous driving.”
Xudong Cao, CEO of Momenta, said, “This collaboration deeply integrates Mercedes-Benz’s century of engineering excellence, Momenta’s cutting-edge AI technology and Lumo’s outstanding local operational capabilities. The robotaxi service, powered by Momenta’s R6 reinforcement learning model, is dedicated to delivering a new smart mobility experience that combines safety with quality.”
Before this collaboration in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes-Benz and Momenta launched an intelligent driving assistance system in China using Momenta’s Flywheel model. The system provides driver assistance across highways, urban streets and parking, and debuted in the all-new fully electric Mercedes-Benz CLA launched in November. It will be gradually expanded to additional Mercedes-Benz models in the future.
In September, Momenta and Uber announced that Munich in Germany will be the first city for their joint robotaxi project, with local testing expected to begin in 2026. Momenta has also launched robotaxi services in Shanghai, China, with the first fully driverless fleet planned for trial operation by the end of this year.
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