The auto and tech industries are rapidly working to deploy autonomous vehicles while gaining the trust and confidence of the public.
Uber is taking it one step further, joining with an auto industry player to create a shared-ride service with Volkswagen. Uber Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal told FOX Business that the company believes that the future of mobility will be “shared, electric and autonomous.”
Its partnership with Volkswagen aligns with this vision.
Uber announced this week that it is working with the German auto manufacturer to deploy a fleet of thousands of all-electric, fully autonomous ID. Buzz AD vehicles for shared rides across multiple U.S. markets over the next decade.
While autonomous vehicles are already on the road, this will be the first time they are used for shared rides. The companies said the first commercial launch is expected in Los Angeles in 2026.
UBER OFFERING DRIVERLESS RIDES IN MAJOR TEXAS CITY
A growing list of companies are racing to make autonomous driving a reality by investing heavily in developing self-driving technology. However, as companies heavily invest in their operations, Uber dumped its program for an entirely new strategy.
In 2020, it sold its autonomous vehicle research division, Uber Advanced Technologies Group, to self-driving car startup Aurora and created partnerships with 18 autonomous vehicle partners, including Volvo, Waymo, Cartken and Nuro, to bring the technology to market and co-brand their efforts. Uber also has autonomous delivery programs available in 11 cities with six partners.
Earlier this month, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company has grown to an annual run-rate of 1.5 million Mobility and Delivery autonomous vehicle trips on its network.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 90.16 | -0.25 | -0.28% |
To make shared rides work effectively, two things are crucial, according to Kansal: a large, dense network of riders and drivers, so trips can be matched efficiently, and strong matching technology that creates a good experience for both riders and drivers.
UBER, WAYMO LAUNCH ‘INTEREST LIST’ FOR AUTONOMOUS RIDES IN ATLANTA
In March, Uber and Alphabet’s Waymo launched autonomous rides in Texas, marking a major milestone in the rapidly advancing self-driving industry. Since then, Uber said the “vast majority” of customers in the area have opted to ride in a Waymo autonomous vehicle when they had the opportunity.
Approximately 100 Waymo vehicles have been added to the platform. The company plans to scale to hundreds of vehicles in Austin over the coming months, while also gearing up for a similar launch in Atlanta in early summer.
The company has already opened an “interest list” for local Atlanta rides in April, so they can boost their chances of being matched with a Waymo vehicle when the service rolls out. While Uber has not announced an exact launch date, Atlanta will be the second city to feature the co-branded, fully autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles.
“One in four Uber riders said that their first electric vehicle experience was on Uber. So Uber was their gateway to an electric vehicle experience. And we think the same thing is going to happen with autonomous vehicles,” he said.
Building public trust is part of the process, though that is just “a matter of us familiarizing end users with these vehicles,” he added.
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