Space Industry and Business News
CAR TECH
Honda, GM plan driverless taxis in Tokyo in 2026
Honda, GM plan driverless taxis in Tokyo in 2026
by AFP Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 19, 2023

Japan's Honda and US auto titan General Motors announced on Thursday that they planned to launch a driverless taxi service in Tokyo in 2026, helping tackle labour shortages in an ageing society.

Co-developed by San Francisco-based self-driving car operator Cruise, the project will offer "an entirely new kind of mobility experience" in Japan, Honda said in a statement.

"This will be a major step toward the realization of an advanced mobility society," its chief executive Toshihiro Mibe said.

The project is also aimed at "helping address societal issues facing Japan, such as the taxi and bus driver shortage", Honda added.

Autonomous vehicles are being pushed by Japan's government as the country battles a rapidly ageing population and persistent labour shortages.

In 2020, Japan became the first country in the world to allow a vehicle capable of taking full control in certain situations to operate on public roads.

Auto giants from Toyota to Nissan are also trialling self-driving buses and taxis.

Honda's newly announced service will feature a "vast cabin space" capable of accommodating six passengers, stripped of a driver's seat and a steering wheel.

It will "pick up customers at a specified location and drive them to the destination, entirely through self-driving", with customers able to complete the whole process on a smartphone app, according to Honda.

"Dozens" of the driverless cars are expected to be launched in Tokyo in early 2026, with the developers then hoping to expand the project to a fleet of 500, and to areas outside central Tokyo.

"The benefits of AVs (autonomous vehicles) -- from safety to accessibility -- are too profound to ignore," Mary Barra, chair and CEO of GM, said.

But self-driving cars are no stranger to controversy, with safety under scrutiny as operators including Cruise increasingly gain traction in California.

Honda, GM and Cruise aim to establish a joint venture dedicated to their new initiative in 2024, pending regulatory approvals.

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CAR TECH
GM delays EV plant conversion, cites evolving 'demand'
New York (AFP) Oct 17, 2023
US auto giant General Motors said Tuesday it was delaying the conversion of a plant to produce electric vehicle (EV) trucks, citing changes in demand as a factor. The company said in a statement that it would "retime the conversion" of its Orion plant in Michigan by a year to "late 2025." The goal of the move was "to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand," according to the statement. The Orion plant, which already produces Chevrolet Bolt EVs, had been due to ... read more

CAR TECH
Simplifying the generation of three-dimensional holographic displays

Researchers developing 'revolutionary' multi-material for light-based 3D printing

Light-powered multi-level memory tech revolutionizes data processing

Keysight to Provide Payload Testing Solution for First SWISSto12 HummingSat Mission

CAR TECH
Northrop Grumman to Create Constellation of Connectivity for Air Force Research Laboratory

Aalyria and Second Front partner to expedite availability of spacetime for government use

US Army contracts Comtech for communication and engineering support services

goTenna achieves key milestone for narrowband mesh radio voice capability

CAR TECH
CAR TECH
Satnav test on remote island lab

Trimble and Kyivstar to provide GNSS correction services in Ukraine

Galileo becomes faster for every user

Present and future of satellite navigation

CAR TECH
Boeing, NASA, United Airlines and DLR to test SAF benefits with air-to-air flights

Industry and Academia team up to accelerate Power-to-Liquid Aviation Fuels in Germany

LSA Alliance using NASA technology to develop personal eVTOL market

easyJet signs up to Airbus' pioneering carbon removal solution

CAR TECH
Tech giants Foxconn, Nvidia announce they are building 'AI factories'

US tightens curbs on AI chip exports to China

Taiwan's TSMC reports profit drop in third quarter

From a five-layer graphene sandwich, a rare electronic state emerges

CAR TECH
Monitoring African copper and cobalt mining emissions from space

Planet's Pelican tech demonstration satellite ready for launch

THEOS-2 Airbus-built satellite for Thailand successfully launched

Hawaii gets $8M for new space tech to measure Earth's chemical composition

CAR TECH
EU unveils plan to halt microplastics pollution via pellets

'Licence to hide': Western plastic waste dumped in Myanmar

Senegal awash in plastic from popular water sachets

Fiji minister urges 'quicker' plastic pollution treaty

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.