Lyft says it should launch a fleet of robotaxis, utilizing self-driving know-how from Intel’s Mobileye, in Dallas in “as quickly as 2026,” with plans to scale to ”hundreds” of automobiles in further markets within the months to comply with. To sign its seriousness, the corporate tapped Marubeni, a Japanese conglomerate, to run fleet operations.
Lyft’s information comes after Uber dropped new particulars about its plan to characteristic Waymo’s robotaxis on its platform in Austin and Atlanta later this yr. And Tesla just lately shared plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin this summer time.
Lyft is taking the same strategy as Uber, providing its ridehail platform to completely different self-driving builders who need to join with prospects with out having to construct their very own customer-facing operation. Like Uber, Lyft’s curiosity is staying as “asset gentle” as doable, needing different corporations to personal, function, and keep the robotaxi fleet for its prospects.
Towards that finish, Lyft says that Marubeni is a world chief in fleet administration, with over 900,000 automobiles worldwide by numerous subsidiaries and joint ventures. Lyft says the corporate will use its Flexdrive fleet-management capabilities “to attenuate complete value of auto possession and maximize fleet utilization.” Marubeni doesn’t seem to have any particular expertise with ridehail or autonomous car operations, however as TechCrunch noted, it has labored with Mobileye on on-demand mobility in Japan.
“They’re aiming to be leaders within the rising AV house, and we sit up for working collectively,” Lyft CEO David Risher mentioned in a put up on X.
Marubeni will personal the automobiles that function with Mobileye know-how. The Intel-owned firm is a provider of superior driver help know-how to plenty of high automakers, together with Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota.