Delphi Automotive will partner with Transdev Group, a public transport service managed by the French government, to develop an automatic on-demand shuttle service in Europe, the companies stated.
In a joint declaration, Delphi and Transdev stated they will evaluate driverless vehicles in Normandy and outside Paris, in advance of developing a commercial service, beginning in 2019, that could be released in other markets, such as North America.
It would be the first such commercial application on public streets of fully automated automobiles, they stated.
The Delphi-Transdev partnership will supply “a clear course to commercializing automated mobility on demand,” stated Glen De Vos, Delphi’s chief technology officer.
Delphi is becoming a part of a self-driving system that it has been developing with Israeli mapping and vision specialist Mobileye, which is being acquired by Intel Corp.
Transdev will manage the task and will provide ticketing, dispatch, routing and remote control-command services, companies stated.
Renault will provide the venture with Zoe electric minicars, according to Yann Leriche, Transdev’s official. The test stage will begin later this year with two Zoe minicars in Rouen in Normandy and a shuttle bus in the Paris suburb of Saclay, Leriche stated. At first, the vehicles will have “safety” motorists on board, but the plan is to move quickly next year to tests of totally driverless automobiles that are remotely managed and monitored by human operators, he added. Delphi has been developing its competence and ability in self-driving automobiles through collaborations, investments and acquisitions.
Numerous of its affiliates will take part in the project with Transdev, consisting of Ottomatika, Control-Tec and Movimento.
Transdev operates public and private transportation services in 19 nations.
The company is managed by Caisse des Depots, a financial investment arm of the French government. Veolia Environnement SA, the French waste management business, holds a 30-percent stake.
The Delphi-Transdev collaboration is the latest in a growing web of worldwide alliances targeted at putting self-driving automobiles on the road in the next four years.
In May, German automaker BMW announced that Delphi will join it in a self-driving collaboration that consists of Intel and Mobileye.
