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Stellantis, the parent company of Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel and Maserati, has just announced a new partnership with Pony AI, a Chinese heavyweight in autonomous driving technologies. Together, the two companies will soon test autonomous robotaxis in Europe.
Concretely, the project is based on Pony’s autonomous driving software platform. This is a system known as level 4that is to say it allows the vehicle to move without any human intervention in the majority of situations — but only in predetermined areas. It will be integrated into Peugeot e-Traveller, eight-seater electric vans, in order to transform them into autonomous taxis, sometimes called robotaxis.
Luxembourg, then all of Europe
The first tests in real conditions will begin “ in the coming months » in Luxembourg, where Pony has established its European headquarters. In particular, they will make it possible to assess the security, performance and regulatory compliance of the systems used.
If all these boxes are checked, the two partners will then extend the system to “other European cities” from next year. The objective of this second phase, on a larger scale, will undoubtedly be to evaluate two other critical points: the public’s reaction to this new mode of transport, still quite exotic on the Old Continent compared to the United States, and the economic viability of such a service in this market.
A race with enormous stakes
For the European giant and its new partner, the stakes of this program are considerable. Indeed, unlike the United States, where autonomous driving is slowly but surely beginning to establish itself in the transport landscape, Europe remains more cautious. In this region, the giants of the sector must juggle a stricter regulatory structure and longer approval procedures than on the other side of the Atlantic. Therefore, there is no no commercial robotaxi service comparable to Waymo and others on the Old Continent yet.
But that doesn’t stop the big names in the industry from advancing their pawns. And they have every interest in doing it quickly. In this still nascent market, each kilometer traveled and each authorization obtained represents a precious advantage in a race where the accumulated experience and the confidence of regulators will make all the difference. If the robotaxis industry does indeed end up exploding, as many analysts predict, it is these pioneers, those with the most experience, who will be best positioned to take the lion’s share.
It will therefore be interesting to follow the evolution of these tests in real conditions. Because if successful, the Stellantis / Pony duo could well become the spearhead of autonomous mobility in Europe, with major implications at the economic level.
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