Intel Owned Mobileye & VW to Launch an Autonomous Taxi Service in Israel

author: Eric Walz   

Automaker Volkswagen and Intel's Mobileye are planning to launch Israel's first ever ride-hailing service using a fleet of self-driving cars. The service is scheduled to begin early next year and roll out in phases reaching full commercialization in 2022.

The two companies announced a joint venture with Israeli car importer Champion Motors, under which Volkswagen will provide the electric vehicles and Mobileye will supply the autonomous driving technology, the companies said in a statement on Monday.

The Israeli government supports the venture and will share required infrastructure and traffic data, the companies said.

"We firmly believe that self-driving electric vehicles will offer Israel and cities around the world safe, clean and emission-free mobility, which is accessible and convenient. We are looking forward to this partnership with our local partners Mobileye and Champion Motors from Israel," said Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group.

Mobileye is a Israel-based autonomous driving unit that Intel purchased for $15.3 billion in 2017. The company's focus is on computer vision and advanced driver assist systems (ADAS). Intel and Mobileye are competing with several chipmakers including Nvidia, to provide the processors to run autonomous driving software and computer vision components for self-driving cars.

As part of the partnership, Mobileye is providing a complete turn-key AV Kit that will be retrofitted into existing Volkswagen models, with Champion Motors managing the control center and fleet operations for the vehicles.

"We are delighted to embark on a joint venture with a world-leading automotive OEM, aimed at delivering a transformational mobility service," said Professor Amnon Shashua, Mobileye CEO and senior vice president at Intel. "Our service aims to intelligently and dynamically adapt to the urban mobility needs of the 21st Century, catering to the mobility-mileage demands within the city while minimizing the direct/indirect incurred societal costs – air/noise pollution, congestion and safety."

A Mobileye Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous test vehicle

The industry of on-demand autonomous ride-hailing fleets is known as "Mobility-as-a-Service" or MaaS. It is expected to grow substantially over the next decade.

According to a market research report released by BIS Research titled "Global Mobility as a Service Market - Analysis and Forecast (2018-2028)", the global mobility as a service market is estimated to reach $1.75 trillion by 2028. The major drivers in this industry are the on-demand transportation services and app-based services, such as autonomous robotaxis.

The announcement is the latest partnership between a tech company and a established automaker. Automakers typically have fallen behind tech companies that are developing self-driving technology, and are rushing to forge partnerships to help them catch up.

Last month, Honda announced a major investment of $2.75 billion in General Motors self-driving vehicle unit Cruise, to jointly develop autonomous vehicles for deployment in ride services fleets around the world. Cruise is currently testing its autonomous fleet of self-driving Chevy Bolt EVs in San Francisco for its own robotaxi service.

Alphabet's self-driving arm Waymo has deal in place with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). The automaker is supplying thousands of Chrysler Pacifica minivans for Waymo's commercial ride-hailing service it plans to launch soon in Arizona.

Mobileye, BMW and Intel are working separately on the development of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous technologies intended for BMW's future level 4 and 5 autonomous models.

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.