Lucid Motors, a prominent US-based electric vehicle (EV) company, has forged a strategic alliance with Bolt, a leading European mobility platform, to collectively investigate the initiation of Robotaxi services throughout Europe. This endeavor will leverage Lucid's cutting-edge mid-size EV platform. Bolt has ambitious plans to roll out a minimum of 25,000 fully autonomous vehicles and will assume full responsibility for fleet ownership and daily operations. The vehicle model selected for this partnership will incorporate Nvidia's Hyperion architecture, although the provider of the autonomous driving software remains undisclosed at this juncture.
Presently, the collaboration is in its nascent phase, with no concrete deployment schedule, financial arrangements, or official orders finalized. Nevertheless, this partnership marks a pivotal stride towards Bolt's overarching objective of having 100,000 autonomous vehicles operational on its platform by 2035. It's worth noting that Lucid Motors recently underwent a restructuring process, which involved reducing its workforce by nearly 20% and delaying the launch of its inaugural mid-size platform vehicle until the latter half of 2027.
Furthermore, Lucid Motors has a history of collaborative ventures, having previously partnered with both Uber and Nuro. The company aims to introduce a Robotaxi variant based on the Gravity SUV by the end of 2026, expressing optimism that this business segment will yield higher profit margins compared to conventional retail vehicle sales.
Bolt's CEO emphasized that advancing autonomous driving services in Europe necessitates a multifaceted approach, encompassing collaboration and adaptation to the unique characteristics of local environments. Bolt's extensive operational experience across more than 850 cities is poised to provide a solid foundation for the successful advancement of these services.
