Byton, which unveiled an electric vehicle concept at CES 2018, is partnering with self-driving technology expert Aurora, to incorporate Level 4 autonomy into its vehicles. It is aiming to become among the first to offer this level of autonomy commercially.
In the next two years, Byton and Aurora will jointly conduct pilot deployment of Aurora’s Level 4 autonomous driving systems on Byton vehicles. Additionally, Byton and Aurora will explore the use of Aurora’s self-driving system in Byton’s series production vehicles. According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, L4 autonomous vehicles can drive independently in most environments, with the expectation that humans may need or choose to drive in some conditions.
“Byton is designed for the age of autonomous driving,” said Dr Carsten Breitfeld, CEO and co-founder of Byton. “We are pleased to partner with Aurora, as Aurora is supremely focused on a mission to deliver the benefits of self-driving vehicles safely, quickly and globally.”
“I’m confident that Aurora will be instrumental in helping Byton achieve its objectives as an innovator of smart, premium electric cars with Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous driving,” said Dr Daniel Kirchert, president and co-founder at Byton.
“We are excited to partner with Byton, an innovator in the electric vehicle industry, to further advance our goal of delivering self-driving vehicles quickly, broadly and safely,” said Chris Urmson, CEO at Aurora. “We look forward to piloting this technology in California.”
Byton plans to design and build smart premium electric cars for the Chinese, US and European markets. Sales are set to begin in China in 2019, and in the USA and Europe in 2020.
