Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car to be used in self-driving robotaxi fleet on Lyft’s ride-hailing network

The Ioniq 5, Hyundai’s new electric car, is going to be used as a self-driving robotaxi in Lyft’s ride-hailing fleet.
Expand Expanding CloseThe Ioniq 5, Hyundai’s new electric car, is going to be used as a self-driving robotaxi in Lyft’s ride-hailing fleet.
Expand Expanding CloseToday, ride-hailing service Lyft announced in a blog post that it will transition every vehicle on its platform to 100% electric operation by 2030. This applies to all cars that use any Lyft platform — including “Express Drive” rental cars, autonomous vehicles, and drivers’ personal cars.
It also announced an end to its carbon-neutral ride program, which will result in a significant increase in Lyft’s emissions over the next decade before reaching all-electric.
In November, Los Angeles-based clean technology leaders announced its Zero Emissions 2028 Roadmap 2.0. At the time, Mayor Eric Garcetti called for a 25% reduction in air pollution by 2028. Today the Financial Times is reporting that Los Angeles may now force Uber and Lyft to use electric cars.
Lyft wants all its rides to become powered by electricity, and in order to make it happen, they have to make it easier for their drivers to drive electric.
This week, they announced the deployment of 200 electric cars available to drivers in Denver. Expand
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Lyft is partnering with Portland General Electric to offer its EV drivers free charging at a number of Portland area locations.
Lyft is bringing a new “Green Mode” to its app which allows riders to specifically request an EV or hybrid vehicle.
Lyft, normally known for their ride-sharing service, has been trying to break into the personal mobility market with electric bicycles and scooters. Now the company has reportedly hired Liam O’Connor to help build their personal electric vehicle portfolio.
The ride-sharing platform Lyft has been quite active through partnerships in the self-driving space. It took an important $500 million from GM to work with them on the deployment of autonomous cars in their fleet. They also announced a similar deal with Alphabet’s Waymo last month.
Now they announce another partnership with a self-driving car startup, nuTonomy, in order to use their vehicles for a fleet in the US – starting in Boston. Expand
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Update: a GM representative contacted to us to clarify that Lyft will actually get the vehicle later this year and not at the launch of the Express Drive program like the press release seen below led us to believe.
GM has long stated that it plans to start deliveries of the Chevy Bolt EV by the end of 2016. It was since revealed in March that the all-electric vehicle entered pre-production on the Orion Assembly line. We later learned that GM is planning for the start of regular volume production of the 2017 Bolt in October 2016.
Now it looks like the vehicle will be on the road sooner than anticipated and not necessarily in the hands of customers, but through GM’s partnership with Lyft, a popular ride-sharing company. Expand
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According to a report today from The Wall Street Journal, GM and Lyft are partnering to test a fleet of self-driving electric taxis sometime within the next year in an undisclosed city. The pilot will reportedly take advantage of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt, a speedy compact crossover all-electric that we took for a test drive earlier this year…
Google joins Uber, Ford, Volvo and Lyft in forming a Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets to promote self driving car regulations on a federal level versus state by state level. Google has been battling the California DMV who have proposed to ban Google’s Koala car that does not have a steering wheel or pedals and would not require a licensed driver.
Just weeks after GM announced a $500 million investment in car-sharing company Lyft, the company says that it expects the first self-driving cars to be use for ride-sharing application instead of direct ownership. General Motors President Dan Ammann made the comment to Mashable at the Detroit Auto Show this week. Expand
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GM announced a $500 million investment in car-sharing company Lyft to create an integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles in the U.S. Expand
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Adam Jonas, a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley covering Tesla Motors and the automotive industry, is nothing if not persistent. During Tesla’s recent conference call to discuss third quarter financial results, the analyst again asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk about the possibility for the company to join the likes of Uber and Lyft in the ride-sharing industry.
Jonas first brought up the idea at Tesla’s last quarterly conference call after comments made by Tesla board member Steve Juvertson about Uber CEO Travis Kalanick potentially wanting to buy 500,000 autonomous Teslas by the end of the decade. First time around earlier this year, Jonas got a firm “no comment” from Musk, but nonetheless the CEO called his question “insightful” at the time. The second time around during this week’s call, Jonas pushed the question again and although Musk’s first reaction was not to comment, which is rare for the CEO, he implied that an announcement could be coming. Expand
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