- Lucid’s upcoming midsize platform will spawn a robotaxi for European cities.
- The cabs will operate under the Bolt banner and use Nvidia Hyperion L4 tech.
- Lucid already has a US deal with Uber and Nuro to deploy 35,000 robotaxis.
The name might not be familiar in America, but the Bolt ride-hailing company is a Goliath in other parts of the globe, operating in more than 850 cities across 50 countries. And proving that anything its more famous rival Uber can do, Bolt can do too, the Euro operation is teaming up with Lucid to develop tens of thousands of robotaxis.
Lucid and Bolt today announced they are joining forces to put 25,000 autonomous cabs on Europe’s streets. It’s part of Bolt’s commitment to provide riders access to 100,000 driverless cars on its platform by 2035. The American EV brand already has a deal in place with Uber to roll out 35,000 robotaxis across North America starting this year.
Related: Don’t Play Chicken With A Tesla Cybercab By Jumping In Front Of It
But there are a couple of important differences between the two deals. Bolt’s Lucids will be based on the carmaker’s upcoming midsize platform, which is probably a better fit for Europe’s generally smaller roads. Lucid and Uber in the US, meanwhile, will use the Gravity SUV, as well as the midsize car when it arrives.
And that’s not the only point of differentiation. Both ride-hail operators’ robotaxis will feature Level 4 autonomous tech enabling them to function without a human driver. But while the US cabs rely on hardware and software from Nuro (image below), Bolt’s robotaxis get their driverless brains from Nvidia Hyperion. Bolt says it will own the entire 25,000-car fleet.
Strong Competition
The robocab market is really heating up in Europe right now. Uber, Verne (co-founded by Mate Rimac) and Pony.ai have already started offering rides in Zagreb, Croatia, and Waymo is currently testing in Europe and plans to launch in Germany before the end of 2027.
Uber has also joined forces with Wayve to put 15 autonomous Mustang Mach-E robotaxis on London’s streets, though each of the EVs is currently required to have a human driver, while Wayve waits for final regulatory approval. And Elon Musk has promised to bring Tesla’s Cybercab to Europe, without offering any kind of timeline.
