Robotaxi

A select group of protestors in the San Francisco Bay area are demobilizing robotaxi EVs operated by companies like Waymo and Cruise by placing orange construction cones over their sensors. While opposition to this technology has been present in small doses for years, the resistance against autonomous vehicles has recently gotten more press following a recent vote to expand the services in California. Is this a fear of autonomy or just a fear of change in general?

Waymo received final approval to operate its driverless taxis in California last week and will start charging for its driverless robotaxi service in San Francisco starting Monday, August 21.

Toyota has a new way of deploying its EVs across China. Autonomous mobility startup Pony.ai announced Friday that it held a joint venture singing ceremony with Toyota Motor Investment and GAC Toyota Motor to mass produce and deploy fully driverless electric robotaxis in China.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles continues to expand the scope of its autonomous driving technology simultaneously on two separate continents using its ID.Buzz electric vans. In Germany where the robotaxi testing initially started, Volkswagen will begin transporting actual passengers for the first time, including government officials.

Unique remote-piloted EV delivery service Halo.Car has taken a big step forward in its progress of transitioning more people over to electric vehicles. Today, the carshare startup announced it had removed the safety drivers from all its EVs, claiming to be the first company in the world to enable electric vehicles to be commercially remote-piloted on public roads without a human present inside. Watch as the empty EV turns heads around downtown Las Vegas in the video below.

Less than five months after beginning completely driverless (and pedal-less) rides on public roads in California, Zoox has expanded operations to Nevada, beginning where else but fabulous Las Vegas. Nevada is quickly becoming a hub for robotaxis, but Zoox is captured a “first” in the Silver State thanks to its unique design.

Volkswagen Group’s rideshare mobility company MOIA announced it is using Apex.AI’s software development kit to create and implement its own passenger management system to enable a network of autonomous ID.Buzz EVs.

Rideshare juggernaut Uber has signed a multi-year strategic partnership with robotaxi developer Waymo, offering driverless rides and deliveries to customers across the former’s platform. The new partnership could bring massive scale to Waymo’s driverless tech, while offering an enormous pool of potential customers.

Robotaxi developer Waymo is taking passenger and bystander safety to another level using the same technology that already allows its fleet of vehicles to offer autonomous rides around major metropolitan areas. Waymo has now added new audio and visual alerts to inform passengers if a cyclist or other passerby is approaching the exit door.

Autonomous robotaxi startup Pony.ai has garnered its latest permit in China – this time allowing rides in the city of Guangzhou without a safety officer present in the vehicle. The permit follows recent permissions awarded to the startup in Beijing, as it continues to expand through China and beyond.

According to a recent post from its CEO, robotaxi operator Cruise is now operating nonstop operations in San Francisco. The post said we will see full Cruise robotaxi operations open up to other cities, which may soon include Dallas, Texas – according to a recent company job posting.

“We’ve built our robotaxi from the ground up. Now, to truly test it, we have to break it apart.” That’s the sentiment shared by robotaxi developer Zoox as it looks to finally launch its truly driverless EV to the public soon. In the final chapter of its “Putting Zoox to the Test” YouTube series, Zoox shared unique safety features that went into the robotaxi design and, of course, included plenty of footage of its EV getting smashed up. See more below.

Robotaxi developer Waymo will soon be operating an all-electric fleet of fifth-generation Waymo Driver as it is retiring its fourth-generation tech utilized on Chrysler Pacifica hybrids. Looking ahead, Waymo will deploy the Jaguar I-Pace EVs as it continues to develop future autonomous vehicles with Geely and its all-electric ZEEKR brand.

GM’s self-driving rideshare unit, Cruise, has applied for permission to expand testing of its robotaxi rides throughout all of California. The autonomous driving specialist has already been testing rides for over a year in different cities across three states including San Francisco, but hopes to expand further throughout The Golden State.

Apollo Go, tech company Baidu’s robotaxi service, has received a permit to offer fully-driverless rides in Beijing, expanding its autonomous ride-hailing service to three major cities in China. Following the awarded permit, Baidu is now the first company in the entire world to offer fully-driverless rides to the over 21 million residents in China’s capital city.

Robotaxi developer Waymo announced that this past January, it surpassed 1 million miles of autonomous driving with no human present in the vehicle. Waymo competitor Cruise also recently reached the autonomous milestone, but Waymo has also publicly shared the data to back up its progress. As previously teased last year, Waymo is also now officially testing driverless rides in Los Angeles.

Autonomous robotaxi developer Zoox has announced two major milestones this month as it inches closer to a full launch to the general public. All without a driver … or pedals … or even a steering wheel. The Amazon subsidiary has shared footage of its Zoox branded robotaxis navigating public roads for the first time in California following an approved testing permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Multinational automaker Stellantis announced it is expanding upon a previous partnership with Archer Aviation, adding its manufacturing experience to aid in producing the latter company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Named “Midnight,” this eVTOL is now planned to be mass produced on US soil.

A report filed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week has opened another investigation into GM’s robotaxi company Cruise. According to the filing, the NHTSA has received multiple reports of Cruise’s autonomous EVs blocking roadways and stopping abruptly, causing accidents with other drivers on roads.

Just over a month after officially launching its G9 SUV in China, XPeng Motors has announced its latest EV has received a permit for autonomous driving tests on public roads. According to the Chinese automaker, the G9 is the first unmodified, mass-produced commercial vehicle to qualify for such tests and is on its way to implementing an XPeng robotaxi network in the future.

XPeng completed its fourth annual 1024 Tech Day in China today, highlighting several of its latest technological breakthroughs in electric mobility. The presentation included several advancements in autonomous driving, robotic animals, and self-evolving AI platforms. Additionally, XPeng Inc. shared that its sixth generation eVTOL – the closest thing we’ve seen to an actual flying car – completed its maiden flight. Lots to unfold here, so let’s get started.