- The first fully-electric AV to be available on the Lyft
network
- Las Vegas is the first city in
Motional and Lyft's multimarket commercial deployment
LAS
VEGAS, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
Today, Lyft, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYFT) and Motional, a global leader
in driverless technology, announced the launch of Motional's new
all-electric IONIQ 5-based robotaxi, an autonomous vehicle (AV)
designed for fully driverless ride-hail operation, on the Lyft
network in Las Vegas.
The launch is the next milestone in the lead-up to Motional and
Lyft's fully driverless service, planning to begin in 2023 and
scaling to multiple U.S. cities. This marks the first time members
of the public will experience Motional's all-electric IONIQ 5 AV,
which is the first all-electric AV to debut on the Lyft
network.
"Motional and Lyft have a clear path to widespread
commercialization of Level 4 autonomous vehicles," says
Karl Iagnemma, Motional's President
and CEO. "We've led the industry in commercial operations for
years, and today's launch signals we're on track to deliver a fully
driverless service next year. Riders in Las Vegas can now experience Motional's IONIQ
5 AV that will make that service a reality. Through our strategic
partnership with Hyundai, the IONIQ 5 AV is fully customized for
driverless ride-hail operation, while maintaining the vehicle's
award-winning comfort and design."
"Launching Motional's all-electric IONIQ 5 on Lyft's network in
Las Vegas represents tremendous
progress in our vision to make an electric, autonomous, and shared
future a reality for people everywhere," said Logan Green, Lyft's CEO and co-founder.
"Building an experience that Lyft riders love is core to advancing
this technology, and today's launch provides riders access to
Motional's autonomous technology in a way that will feel seamless,
familiar, and personalized, all on a network they already trust. We
are designing an autonomous experience where the only expectation
for riders is to relax and enjoy the ride."
The Path to Driverless
Rides
Motional and Lyft have been conducting autonomous rides in
Las Vegas since 2018, and now Lyft
riders will be among the first to experience Motional's new AV,
which has a custom-designed user experience for a fully autonomous
journey.
This means riders are able to easily control their ride without
assistance from a driver. The enhanced experience includes
unlocking the doors through the Lyft app and starting the ride or
contacting customer support from the new in-car Lyft AV app, an
intuitive in-ride display tailored to autonomous ridesharing. The
features are backed by extensive research and feedback from real
riders to maximize their comfort and ease of use. Motional and Lyft
are making the new user features available to the public now in
preparation for when the service plans to be fully driverless next
year.
Motional and Lyft's
Partnership
In 2018, Motional and Lyft pioneered a partnership between the
AV and ridesharing industries with the launch of their public
service in Las Vegas. The service
has since become the model for deploying autonomous vehicles on
rideshare networks, and has introduced over 100,000 Lyft riders to
autonomous technology. The service has been overwhelmingly popular
with riders, with over 95% leaving five-star reviews and many going
on to become repeat riders.
Motional and Lyft are excited to take the next step in the mass
adoption of autonomous ride-hails. Their fully driverless service
plans to launch in Las Vegas in
2023, before expanding to other major U.S. cities.
Interested riders can download the Lyft app to request a ride
and visit LasVegas.Motional.com for more
information.
About Lyft
Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) was founded in 2012 and is one of the
largest transportation networks in the
United States and Canada.
As the world shifts away from car ownership to
transportation-as-a-service, Lyft is at the forefront of this
massive societal change. Its transportation network brings together
rideshare, bikes, scooters, car rentals and transit all in one app.
We are singularly driven by our mission: to improve people's lives
with the world's best transportation.
About Motional
Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous
vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. The company
formed in 2020 as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group, one
of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers offering smart
mobility solutions, and Aptiv, a global technology company that
develops safer, greener and more connected solutions enabling a
more sustainable future of mobility.
The Motional team has driven some of the driverless industry's
largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous
cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first
robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's most-established
public autonomous fleet which has conducted over 100,000 public
rides.
Motional is developing and commercializing SAE Level 4
autonomous vehicles for ride-hail and
delivery applications.
Headquartered in Boston,
Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia. For more information, visit
www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn,
Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lyft-and-motional-deliver-the-first-rides-in-motionals-new-all-electric-ioniq-5-autonomous-vehicle-301606519.html
SOURCE Motional