Aptiv, a company focusing on the technology behind autonomous cars has launched a fleet of 30 BMW vehicles in Las Vegas on the Lyft network. Yes, hail a ride and you get to ride in an autonomous vehicle in Las Vegas. Based on what was shared during CES, most likely those BMW’s will be the 5-series.
A product of Aptiv’s Mobility and Services group, these vehicles will operate on Aptiv’s fully-integrated autonomous driving platform and be made available to the public in partnership with Lyft. On an opt-in basis, passengers will have the ability to hail a self-driving vehicle equipped with Aptiv technology to and from high-demand locations.
This partnership is a multiyear agreement between the two companies and a clear step toward generating revenue for Aptiv’s autonomous driving business. Both companies will leverage Aptiv’s connected services capabilities and Lyft’s ride-hailing experience to provide valuable insights on self-driving fleet operations and management.
“With Aptiv’s autonomous driving technology deployed throughout Las Vegas and broadly accessible through the Lyft app, a wide range of consumers will be able to share the experience of autonomous vehicles in a complex urban environment,” said Kevin Clark, Aptiv president and chief executive officer. “More importantly, the resulting knowledge and data will allow us to further refine our autonomous driving capabilities and strengthen our portfolio of industry-leading active safety solutions.”
The combination of Aptiv’s autonomous driving technology and Lyft’s ride-hailing app is the expansion of a successful partnership that launched in Las Vegas during CES 2018. That initial pilot provided more than 400 self-driving rides to the public and earned an average customer rating of 4.99 out of five stars. Like the CES program, vehicles will be operated by highly-trained safety drivers.
Aptiv, built on decades of experience in automotive performance, has a strong foundation in delivering safe technologies. The company prioritizes and meets high-level functional safety requirements in both its software and hardware validation.
Aptiv autonomous vehicles on the Lyft network will be available to the general public in Las Vegas starting today.
