Lucid and Uber set up robotaxi service

Lucid, Nuro and Uber set up robotaxi service

Uber plans to deploy 20,000 or more autonomous Lucid Gravity vehicles in dozens of markets worldwide, with the launch planned for the end of the year in a major US city.

Lucid, Nuro, and Uber today announced a global robotaxi program designed exclusively for the Uber platform. The program will combine the vehicle architecture of Lucid's Gravity SUV with US self-driving technology specialist Nuro's Level 4 autonomous driving system and Uber's global network and dynamic fleet management. The necessary hardware is integrated directly into the Gravity and then receives the Nuro software as soon as the vehicle is put into operation by Uber. The first Lucid Nuro Robotaxi prototype is already driving autonomously on a closed Nuro test site in Las Vegas, USA. The new robotaxi service is due to start operating in a major US city by the end of the year.

Uber plans to equip 20,000 or more Lucid vehicles with the Nuro Driver over a period of six years. Uber or its third-party fleet partners will own and operate the vehicles and make them exclusively available to passengers via the Uber platform. With operations in 70 countries and an average of 34 million rides per day, Uber has the scale to make the benefits of autonomous vehicles accessible worldwide. To further deepen the partnership, Uber plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in both Nuro and Lucid. (aum)