Mobility news – while you were away

You might expect the summer months to be quiet, but that’s not the case in the AV industry. Here’s a wrap-up of what happened while you may have been out of the office.

In early July, concept developer Rimac unveiled its Verne robotaxi prototype. The deployment plans are ambitious, and it will be interesting to see how they unfold, as things in the AV industry don’t always go as planned. Meanwhile, Elon Musk had to delay the much-anticipated launch of his robotaxi until October. Verne has garnered a lot of attention for its design, maybe partly because it resembles the sketches of the “Apple Car” that was discontinued a few months ago. Now, rumor has it that Apple’s Project Titan might be picked up by Porsche, but these are just speculations.

Waymo, the reigning king of robotaxis, has also made headlines this summer. There’s been a lot of positive news, including a $5 billion investment from Alphabet, expanded operating areas, surpassing 100,000 paid rides per week, and the official launch of its next vehicle platform, based on the Zeekr robotaxi, purpose-designed in Gothenburg. However, Waymo has also faced challenges, such as dealing with the police after running a red light and a neighborhood disturbance incident where Waymo cars were reportedly honking at each other in their overnight parking lot.

Uber, which divested its AV development division several years ago, now seems to be re-entering the robotaxi space. First, they signed an agreement to acquire 100,000 cars from BYD globally, also intending to leverage their AV technology. Then just days ago, Uber announced a partnership with Cruise to develop an AV-enabled ride-hailing network.

Europe has also seen its share of AV news, particularly in the area of ridesharing with larger vehicles. Hamburg boasts arguably the most ambitious deployment plan in Europe for AV transit buses, aiming to convert 80% of all journeys to public transportation. In Cambridge, UK, bus maker Alexander Dennis is set to launch a few SAE L4-capable city buses.

Speaking of public transportation, we’re also excited to share a new interactive map that shows how sustainable transit is around the world. And to wrap up on that note, Paris managed traffic quite well during the Summer Olympics, which prompted the next host city, Los Angeles, to promise a car-free Olympics in 2028. Now, that will be an interesting challenge to follow!