Argo AI, Ford and Lyft to launch self-driving ride-hail service in Miami and Austin

Forward Industries

21/07/2021 12:00

By Tina Bellon
    AUSTIN, July 21 (Reuters) - Self-driving startup Argo AI,
carmaker Ford Motor Co  F.N  and ride-hail company Lyft Inc
 LYFT.O  on Wednesday said they partnered to offer robotaxi
trips to Lyft customers in Miami and Austin.
    The service is expected to launch in Miami later this year
and in Austin next year with a safety driver inside the Ford
Escape hybrid vehicles. Over the next five years, the companies
want to deploy at least 1,000 robotaxis in multiple cities.
    The first truly driverless cars are expected to launch in
2023, said Jody Kelman, head of Lyft's autonomous team.
    The partnership marks the first large-scale U.S.
collaboration between a carmaker, a self-driving developer and a
ride-hailing company. The companies hope to gain valuable
insights on how to turn robotaxis into a commercially viable
business - a challenge no company has yet answered.
    As part of the agreement, Argo AI, which is backed by Ford
and Volkswagen AG  VOWG_p.DE , will receive anonomized data on
passenger trips and safety incidents. That will allow Argo to
optimize its technology and routing to avoid unsafe streets,
Argo CEO Bryan Salesky said in a blog post.
    In exchange, Lyft will receive a 2.5% stake in the company.
At Argo's most recent valuation of $7.5 billion, that equity
slice would be worth $187.5 million. Argo, which is currently
testing autonomous vehicles in several U.S. cities, in June said
it plans to list publicly within the next year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2NR2EK
    Ford will fuel, service and clean the robotaxi fleets under
the partnership.
    In traditional ride-hailing services, human drivers make up
an estimated 80% of the total per mile cost, according to
research firm Frost & Sullivan, underscoring the companies'
interest in a driverless future. But self-driving vehicles need
to recoup their expensive development costs and still need to be
managed and maintained.
    "Our job is to generate the maximum revenue out of each of
these vehicles by getting the highest utilization," said Lyft's
Kelman.
    Lyft in April sold its own self-driving technology unit to
Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T  for $550 million to focus instead on
providing services such as routing, consumer interface and fleet
management.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MJ2PU
    Lyft already allows consumers to book rides in self-driving
vehicles in select cities in partnership with Alphabet Inc's
 GOOGL.O  Waymo and Motional, the joint venture between Hyundai
Motor Co  005380.KS  and Aptiv  APTV.N .
    
    

 (Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, additional reporting by
Paul Lienert in Detroit, editing by Chris Reese)
 ((Tina.Bellon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 573 5029; Reuters
Messaging: tina.bellon.thomsonreuters@reuters.net; Twitter
@TinaBellon))