Intel autonomous vehicle unit Mobileye has unveiled its 6-passenger, electric autonomous vehicle at the Munich Motor Show. The electric Mobileye autonomous vehicles will operate under the MoovitAV service branding and will be used for commercial driverless ride-hailing services in Tel Aviv and Munich starting in 2022. The service will be operated in cooperation with international rental company Sixt SE.
The robot taxis will use Chinese manufactured NIO electric vehicles, which were recently delivered to Mobileye and will use the Mobileye Drive self-driving system featuring 8 EyeQ5 SoCs in the AVKIT58. Mobileye will own the fleet of cars, while Sixt will operate and maintain them.
Germany recently enacted an Autonomous Vehicle Law, which allows use of autonomous vehicles on the country's roads and will allow Mobileye's robot taxis to start operating next year as part of a pilot project. Regulatory approval will be needed for commercial services. Despite Mobileye's declaration, it is unclear if autonomous taxi services will be able to begin next year.
Mobileye is also considering offering a future package of electric cars adapted to the specific requirements of autonomous cars. Mobileye is in talks with German car manufacturers on the matter, who would produce, what is called in the industry a 'skateboard' on which the vehicle will be added in various configurations and integrated with Mobileye's systems.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told the Munich Motor Show that by 2030, chips will make up 20% of the components of premium cars, five times more than their proportion in 2019.
Mobileye founder and CEO Prof. Amnon Shashua estimates that the cost of the autonomous 'kit' for the autonomous taxi project is currently about $20,000, which makes it most suitable for revenue producing commercial operations.
Shashua estimates that by 2024, Mobileye will be able to reduce the cost of the kit for cars to about $5,000 which will make it suitable for serial production for cars for private owners. The reduction in price is due to LIDAR and radar components being developed by Intel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 8, 2021
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