Driverless technology company Motional and Uber Technologies have signed a commercial agreement to provide customers with fully driverless rides using Motional’s new robotaxis which are based on the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Through the 10-year multimarket agreement, the pair aim to scale up and broaden the uptake of autonomous vehicles (AVs) by teaming the advanced driverless technology from Motional with Uber’s extensive customer network. Beginning in the USA, the duo will deploy the service in a multitude of cities towards the end of 2022. Under the new partnership, Uber will also share targeted insights to allocate and position the Motional Ioniq 5 vehicles.
Earlier in 2022, Motional and Uber started working together to deliver food autonomously to customers in California. To date, the pilot has been successful, with good reviews from the delivery company’s customers. This has resulted in an expansion of the autonomous delivery operation to more restaurants and customers.
“This agreement will be instrumental to the wide-scale adoption of robotaxis,” said Karl Iagnemma, president and CEO, Motional. “Motional now has unparalleled access to millions of riders and a roadmap to scale significantly over the next ten years. We’re proud to partner with Uber to bring both driverless ride-hail and deliveries to life in cities throughout the US.”
“We’re excited to leverage the power of Uber’s platform to bring Motional’s advanced autonomous technology to a wide range of riders at the push of a button,” said Noah Zych, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber. “The scope of this partnership shows the important role that shared autonomous vehicles will play in the future of transportation, and in Uber’s strategy to be the global platform to help you go anywhere and get anything.”
