On a bi-weekly basis, Center for Automotive Research (CAR) welcomes our audience to decompress with our President and CEO, Alan Amici, as he covers and shares his thoughts on the latest Hot Topics happening in the automotive industry. While the biweekly newsletter primarily covers three topics, this feature story previews one of the topics covered on November 14, 2022. If you would like access to the full newsletter for better insights into critical industry issues you and your organization are facing, sign up for our mailing list here.

HOT TOPICS WITH CENTER FOR AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH CEO 11/14/2022

Robotaxis

• Waymo starts full-fledged robotaxi services in Phoenix
• Streets of San Francisco test mettle of Cruise robotaxis
• Waymo can now charge for fully driverless services in San Francisco
• Nissan sets up a new entity in China, focusing on robotaxi services
• Mercedes To Emphasize Efficiency & Range Over Robotaxis
• XPeng’s G9 arrives as first unmodified, mass-produced EV to qualify for autonomous robotaxi testing

Alan’s thoughts:

The seductive pull of AV continues even as big players such as Ford and VW exit. AVs offer great promise – enhanced mobility, reduced crashes, fewer injuries, and less demand on first responders – but the technology has been challenging to harness. The question remains: “How safe is safe enough”? 

For the optimists among us, big players like Waymo and Cruise continue robotaxi development and are cautiously expanding deployment in certain cities. AV technology seems to have found a sweet spot in construction/agriculture applications. Other OEMs are tapping the brakes on robotaxi development and instead are focusing on enhancing ADAS systems – approaching Level 3 autonomy. Will AVs be limited to con/ag and delivery rather than passengers? Stay tuned.

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