Lyft and Motional Self Driving prototype.
Motional, a Hyundai and Aptiv joint-venture in driverless technology*, is expanding West Coast operations. The expansion follows 18 months of existence for Motional during which it closed the formation of a joint venture, extended Asia operations to Seoul, and increased headcount. Motional was the first in the auto industry to have operations in the U.S. and Asia.
This move comes as Motional accelerates towards mass commercialization, which includes a landmark agreement with Lyft to launch a multimarket fully driverless service starting in 2023. Motional claims to be one of the world’s key AV players. “We’ve had a presence in Los Angeles for more than five years and are now increasing our investment in California with a new operations facility and road testing in the Los Angeles area, a new San Francisco Bay Area office, and extensive hiring that will more than double the size of our California team,” Motional said in a release. (AutoInformed.com on Lyft and Motional to Deploy Fully Self-Driving Vehicles in 2023; Argo AI, Ford to Launch Self-Driving Vehicles on Lyft Network; Hyundai Motor, Kia to build American-made Electric Vehicles)
*Motional is a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers offering smart mobility solutions, and Aptiv, a global technology leader in advanced safety, electrification, and vehicle connectivity.
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