Uber has announced plans to roll out a fleet of 20,000 self-driving taxis after striking a landmark $300 million (£224 million) deal with electric vehicle maker Lucid Group, marking a major leap forward in its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions.
The ride-sharing giant will begin deploying the Lucid Gravity SUVs—equipped with self-driving technology developed by robotics company Nuro—from next year. The vehicles will be introduced gradually over six years, starting in a major US city in 2025.
As part of the partnership, Uber will also take a $300 million equity stake in Lucid, making it the EV manufacturer’s second-largest shareholder after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Uber is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars in Nuro to strengthen its self-driving technology pipeline.
Uber’s chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the programme has the potential to reshape urban mobility.
“Autonomous vehicles have enormous potential to transform our cities for the better,” he said.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Nuro and Lucid on this new robotaxi programme, purpose-built just for the Uber platform, to safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people across the world.”
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