Stellantis and Bolt want to offer autonomous vehicles in Europe

Contents

After the Estonian ride-hailing provider Bolt announced a cooperation with the Chinese developer of autonomous driving systems Pony.ai at the beginning of December, Bolt is now following up: Together with the multi-brand group Stellantis (Peugeot, Opel, Fiat, Citroën, Jeep, …), one of the world's largest automotive groups, they want to develop autonomous vehicles at SAE Level 4 for use in Europe. The partnership marks "the next step in Bolt's plan to have 100,000 autonomous vehicles available on its shared mobility platform by 2035," says Bolt CEO Markus Villig.

First tests from 2026

As Stellantis writes in its announcement, the collaboration with Bolt will combine Stellantis' "AV-Ready platforms," particularly the "mid-size eK0 van and the STLA Small platform, with Bolt's extensive mobility network." Stellantis' so-called "AV-Ready platforms" were developed to support commercial driverless services on a large scale. According to the automotive group, the platforms are designed for "flexibility and scalability" and integrate sensor suites, high-performance computers, and system redundancies "to meet the highest safety and reliability standards."

Gradual introduction

The partners' timeline foresees starting with the deployment of test vehicles for trials in selected European countries from 2026. The focus will be on "creating a service that offers the highest safety and performance standards in Europe." Furthermore, the introduction will be gradual. First with prototypes and pilot fleets, leading to a phased industrial scaling with an initial production target in 2029. Bolt currently offers ride-hailing services in over 50 countries, including 23 EU member states.

Even before Bolt and Pony.ai announced their partnership, the software company had signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Stellantis in October. This stated that the two intend to jointly develop autonomous vehicles according to SAE Level 4. The initial focus will be on fully electric, mid-size vans that are ideally suited as robotaxis. With Bolt as a third partner on board, there is ultimately a mobility platform on which the vehicles can be deployed.

The robotaxis are coming

Bolt is not the only one with big plans to bring autonomous driving to Europe: US market leader Waymo also plans to offer robotaxis in London from 2026. Lyft also wants to bring robotaxis to Germany, among other places, together with Baidu. The ride-hailing provider Uber wants to test fully driverless cars in Germany. The US ride-hailing provider relies on the technology of the Chinese software company Momenta. Mercedes also relies on the knowledge of Momenta for its autonomously driving S-Class, which will initially be allowed to drive in Abu Dhabi; other locations are to be added later. Volkswagen has also been testing autonomous vehicles in Germany for several years and recently announced that it will offer its robotaxi service in Hamburg starting in 2026.

(afl)