- Nevada says Hyundai (OTCPK:HYMLF) and Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) can test autonomous vehicles on public roads without a safety driver.
- The Motional joint venture between the two companies landed the approval from Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles about a month ago.
- Motional will begin operating Chrysler Pacifica minivans without a human driver in the next few months, according to Chief Technology Officer Laura Major. The testing will see a person riding along in the passenger seat to stop the car if anything goes wrong.
- Motional joins Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Zoox, GM's (NYSE:GM) Cruise, AutoX, Nuro and Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo in having self-driving permits in Nevada.
- Motional on its driverless program: "The real word significance of this moment is profound. Road accidents kill more than a million people each year — that means driverless vehicles have the power to save millions of lives. Motional’s driverless vehicles will never be drowsy, drunk or distracted; they will be better, safer drivers than even skilled professionals. The world needs safer roads. With a growing presence in South Korea and bases in Singapore and multiple US cities, we’re creating technology that can navigate a wide range of international road environments: left-hand and right-hand drive, harsh sun and heavy rain, highways and city streets, roundabouts and uncontrolled intersections. Put simply: we’re building the foundations to change transportation on a global scale."
- Looking ahead, Hyundai and Aptiv are building a new self-driving-vehicle platform and plan to offer to robotaxi fleets starting in 2022. The company has already been providing some robotaxi rides through Lyft in Las Vegas and recently announced a partnership with ride-sharing startup Via.