American EV manufacturer Lucid, along with Estonian-founded mobility platform Bolt, have agreed a partnership to deploy autonomous mobility technology at significant scale across Europe.
More robotaxis to arrive on European streets thanks to new partnership
Under the agreement, Bolt is set to deploy a minimum of 25,000 fully-autonomous Lucid EVs across Europe, which will operate with Nvidia’s Hyperion technology. The partnership kicks off at the development stage, with the two firms set to now engineer an autonomous vehicle platform for the Lucid vehicles being deployed which operates at Level 4 autonomy.
It comes as part of a wider ambitious target from Bolt to roll out a total of 100,000 autonomous vehicles on its platform by 2035, and the focus on using fully-electric models will also assist Bolt in reaching its sustainability targets.
Lucid and Bolt aren’t the only companies plotting rapid expansion of autonomous mobility and robotaxis across the European region, however. Earlier this month, Uber and Wayve launched the UK’s first commercial robotaxi service in London, deploying a fleet of Ford Mustang Mach-E EVs which operate on Wayve’s ‘AI Driver’ software – though for now, there remains a human behind the wheel ready to take over at anytime.
Separately, in the US, Lucid partnered with Uber and autonomous technology firm Nuro at the start of the year, though a confirmed launch date for their deployment in San Francisco is still yet to be confirmed.
Silvio Napoli, CEO of Lucid Motors, commented:
“Shared autonomous mobility offers the perfect opportunity to extend our unique technology beyond consumer vehicles. Bolt’s reach and operating expertise make it an ideal partner to scale autonomous mobility across Europe. Together we will deliver an exceptional customer experience.”
Markus Villig, Founder and CEO of Bolt, added:
“Autonomous driving in Europe requires data, software, vehicles, and operations to work as one system built for European roads and regulation. Lucid brings a world-class platform, and together, we will co-design the vehicle and software based on our data and more than a decade of operating experience across more than 850 cities. No one is better placed to operate autonomous mobility services efficiently at scale.”
