Key Highlights:
- Intel Corp’s Mobileye along with Benteler EV Systems & Beep will be launching a self-driving electric shuttle.
- The model will have 12 to 14 seats without a steering wheel or pedal.
- Mobileye also plans to deploy robotaxis in Israel & Germany.
Intel Corp’s Mobileye has announced that it might build and deploy self-driving electric shuttles with its partners in the U.S. in 2024. This is to automate the driving system beyond taxis and delivery vehicles.
The electric shuttle will be launched by Mobileye, Benteler EV Systems, and Beep, and the model will sport 12 to 14 seats and have no steering wheel or pedal.
These vehicles will be operated in “contained geo-fenced areas” and their speed limits will be 35 miles an hour or less. The same was confirmed by Hinrich Woebcken, the advisory board member for Beep.
Mobileye Robotaxis here by 2023
Mobileye has planned to deploy robotaxis in Israel and Germany at the end of this year with pending regulatory approval. The company will partner with Udelv—a Silicon Valley start-up, to put automated electric delivery vehicles into service in the U.S. by 2023.
Mobileye still awaits approval from the U.S. federal and state regulators. The company will prove to the regulators how the self-driving systems will be safer than a human driver. The VP of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) at Mobileye, Johann Jungwirth said, “On a technology perspective, we feel very, very bullish and very strongly that the technology is actually close to being ready.”
Robotaxis towards cost-effective future
The executives from Mobileye also stated that the shuttles will help save on driver costs, address driver shortages, and also address urban problems like emissions and congestion. The Managing Director of Benteler EV Systems GmbH, Marco Kollmeier, “We see the interesting opportunities and growth of this autonomous mover, autonomous shuttle market. So we see it as a blue ocean.”
Benteler EV Systems is part of the German automotive parts group of Benteler International AG. It will build shuttles that meet the automotive industry and safety standards for the public road.
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