Uber Will Add Mobile Autonomous Vehicles to Fleet For Rides, Food

Uber returns to autonomous vehicles. The ride-hailing and food delivery company has announced that it has signed a 10-year agreement with Motion to provide Uber with autonomous vehicles for its services. Both expect the first trip to happen before the end of the year.

“This agreement will play an important role in the wide-scale adoption of robotaxis,” said Karl Iagnemma, president and CEO of Motion. This partnership will allow Motion access to key insights from Uber that will help AV Companies to “strategically deploy” their vehicles.

The information Motion will get from Uber will help reduce unnecessary mileage and vehicle downtime. This should lead to improved service for customers, reduced weight time and lower costs. This will ensure the vehicle spends the most time generating revenue.

This isn’t Uber and Motion’s first partnership together. In May, Motion began shipping Uber Eats orders in Santa Monica, California, with its autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 crossover. The two designed a pilot program to study how customers interact with the technology, and it was “well received” by customers, according to Motion, which has expanded the service to other restaurants. The new 10-year agreement allows the two to expand autonomous Uber Eats delivery to other cities.

Uber previously researched autonomous vehicles, but sold the division in 2020, three years later. Motion is a joint venture between Aptiv and Hyundai, which is why the company uses Hyundai crossovers for most of its fleet. It’s unclear where the two will expand services first, as states have different requirements for autonomous vehicles.

“The scope of this partnership demonstrates the important role shared autonomous vehicles will play in the future of transportation, and in Uber’s strategy to become a global platform to help you go anywhere and get anything,” said Noah Zych, Uber’s global head of autonomous. mobility and delivery.

Autonomous vehicles are a long-promised technology that has struggled for mainstream relevance. The vehicle faces considerable hurdles before computers power everyone, but it’s a step towards that future.

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