Lyft and Motional will launch unmanned cab service in Los Angeles with Hyundai Ioniq 5 cars

Motional plans to launch a robotic cab service in Los Angeles. Lyft will help it with this.

Here's What We Know

Motional is a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv. Lyft is a cab aggregator and a competitor to Uber. Together the companies plan to launch an unmanned cab service, but not before 2023. The exact date has not yet been announced.

The robotaxi service will use Hyundai Ioniq 5 cars. By the time of the launch the electric cars of the South Korean company will be able to move along the roads with passengers in the cabin and without a driver at the wheel.

Before the Hyundai Ioniq 5 can appear on Los Angeles roads, Motional must obtain appropriate approvals from the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Public Utilities Commission. This will allow the company to transport passengers using unmanned vehicles and charge customers for the services provided.

Everyone found out about Motional two years ago when Hyundai announced it wanted to invest $1.6 billion in order to impose competition in the unmanned car market. Aptiv owns 50 percent of the company, and the total investment comes to $4 billion.

Earlier in 2022, Motional and Lyft already managed to launch a cab service in Las Vegas. In addition, the companies have been testing unmanned cabs in Southern California for more than a year.

Source: The Verge