The new driverless Hyundai ‘ROBO-TAXI’ set for Lyft ride-hailing platform in 2023
An all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5-based ‘robotaxi’ built in partnership with Motional will be used in a fully driverless public ride-hail service on the Lyft platform starting in 2023.
Based on the all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5, which launched earlier this year, the IONIQ 5 robotaxi is an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle that can safely operate without a driver.
The vehicle is a zero tailpipe-emissions robotaxi and represents what is said to be the two most transformative technologies in mobility: electrification and autonomy.
The IONIQ 5 robotaxi is also Motional’s first commercial vehicle. Motional will begin transporting public passengers in the IONIQ 5 robotaxi in 2023 through a landmark partnership with Lyft.
Karl Iagnemma, Motional President and CEO, said: “This robotaxi represents Motional’s vision of a driverless future becoming a reality.
“Through our strategic partnership with Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, we have unparalleled automotive and software expertise across our entire vehicle development process. This deep collaboration enables us to manufacture a robotaxi that’s both highly safe and reliable, and is cost-optimized for global production. We’re focused on mass commercialisation, and the IONIQ 5 robotaxi is built for that purpose.”
Woongjun Jang, Head of the Autonomous Driving Center at Hyundai Motor Group, said: “Hyundai Motor has evolved its IONIQ 5, a battery electric vehicle built on its EV-dedicated platform, into a platform for fully autonomous vehicles.
“For the IONIQ 5-based robotaxi, we have applied various redundancy systems, in addition to a suite of essential technologies to ensure safety and convenience of the passengers. By successfully integrating the Group’s IONIQ 5 robotaxi with Motional’s autonomous driving technology, we are proud to announce that we have achieved another important milestone on the road to the commercialization of our robotaxi.”
Motional and Hyundai Motor Group will debut the IONIQ 5 robotaxis for the first time publicly at IAA Mobility in Munich, 7-12 September.
