Lyft plans to introduce fully autonomous robotaxis, powered by Mobileye, in Dallas by 2026, with expansion to follow, TechCrunch reports.
Marubeni will own and finance the Mobileye-equipped vehicles, which will be available on Lyft’s ride-hailing app. Lyft has not disclosed its automaker partner, but Mobileye’s technology is already integrated into models from Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, and General Motors.
See also: Lyft, Mobileye Partner to Expand Autonomous Fleet Commercialization
Jeremy Bird, Lyft’s executive vice president of driver experience, said the company aims to scale “to thousands of vehicles across multiple cities.” He emphasized the importance of Marubeni’s fleet management role, stating, “Mobileye’s got the technology and the relationship with the OEMs, and we have the platform, so it’s the ownership of the fleet that’s the big missing piece.”
Lyft will use its Flexdrive service to manage the fleet, handling charging, cleaning, and maintenance. The company is also in talks with other autonomous carmakers to expand its partnerships, as Uber secures deals with multiple AV firms, including Waymo, Nuro, and Aurora Innovation.
See also: TIER IV and Nihon Kotsu Partner on Autonomous Driving Data Collection Initiative
Lyft has faced setbacks in AV development, including failed partnerships with Motional and Argo AI. It previously sold its in-house AV unit to Toyota’s Woven Planet. Despite Uber’s aggressive expansion in AV partnerships, Bird noted, “The rest of the value chain is where we really want to play a role, and that’s in fleet management, demand generation, and marketplace.”
