April was a busy month in the autonomous-vehicle world, with major industry players announcing high-profile partnerships, new deployments, and self-driving milestones.
Teamwork: First up, Alphabet-owned AV company Waymo and Toyota, the world’s top-selling automaker, on April 29 announced plans to team up to more quickly develop and deploy self-driving vehicle tech.
In a blog post, the companies said they plan “to combine their respective strengths to develop a new autonomous vehicle platform” and “will explore how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles.”
The announcement comes shortly after Alphabet’s CEO publicly suggested that Waymo might someday sell AVs directly to consumers.
“We share a strong sense of purpose and a common vision with Waymo in advancing safety through automated driving technology,” Hiroki Nakajima, a board member and EVP of Toyota Motor, said in a statement.
Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo’s co-CEO, said that the company “look[s] forward to exploring this strategic partnership, incorporating their vehicles into our ride-hailing fleet, and bringing the magic of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology to Toyota customers.”
And in other partnership news, Volkswagen and Uber on April 24 announced plans to deploy autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles on Uber’s network in “multiple US markets over the next decade,” according to a news release.
The companies said testing would commence later this year ahead of an expected commercial launch in Los Angeles next year. Testing initially will include human operators in the vehicles.
“Volkswagen is not just a car manufacturer—we are shaping the future of mobility, and our collaboration with Uber accelerates that vision,” Christian Senger, CEO of Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility, said in a statement. “What really sets us apart is our ability to combine the best of both worlds—high-volume manufacturing expertise with cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of urban mobility needs.”
Keep up with the innovative tech transforming business
Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.
In a statement, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the partnership “marks a significant milestone in the advancement of autonomous mobility, and highlights both Volkswagen’s and Uber’s shared dedication to building the future of transportation.”
Making moves: Amazon-owned robotaxi startup Zoox announced last month that it’s coming to Los Angeles, its sixth market. Zoox also operates test fleets in the Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, and Miami.
Meanwhile, autonomous trucking company Plus announced a new milestone in the commercialization of its technology: Its virtual driver, SuperDrive, successfully completed a series of validation tests of its fully autonomous system without a human in the truck. The company is preparing to launch factory-built autonomous trucks equipped with its SuperDrive AV platform in 2027.
“We tested the ability of the truck to do lots of important safety maneuvers that it might have to do on the highway, such as pulling over to the shoulder, stopping in lane, navigating construction zones, and other unexpected situations,” Tim Daly, Plus’s chief architect and co-founder, said during a virtual roundtable. “And we also simulated lots of different failures to make sure nothing funny went wrong.”
CEO David Liu said Plus sees an approximately $1 billion revenue opportunity in addressing just a small fraction of the US trucking industry’s driver shortage.
And Earl Adams Jr., Plus’s VP of policy and regulatory affairs, said there’s been progress on efforts by the Trump administration to establish a federal regulatory framework for the deployment of AVs, noting Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s recent release of an AV deployment vision.
“We see that as a very promising first step,” Adams said.