Uber & Motional Announce Multimarket Commercial Agreement for Autonomous Ride-Hail & Delivery Services

Hyundai-backed Motional, a global driverless technology group, and Uber Technologies Inc have announced a commercial agreement to offer fully driverless rides using Motional's all-electric IONIQ 5-based robotaxis. The 10-year, multimarket agreement pairs Motional's driverless technology with Uber's network of millions of customers. 

The companies will strategically deploy the service in cities across the US., with the first trips expected to start later this year. 

As part of the commercial partnership, Uber will share targeted insights to efficiently allocate and position Motional's vehicles. 

The companies will share details on the cities and services in the future. 

 Earlier this year, Motional began conducting autonomous food deliveries for Uber Eats customers in California. 

Its IONIQ 5 robotaxis are fully electric, zero tailpipe-emissions vehicles. 

Karl Iagnemma, President and CEO of Motional, says: "This agreement will be instrumental to the wide scale adoption of robotaxis," . Motional now has unparalleled access to millions of riders and a roadmap to scale significantly over the next ten years. We're proud to partner with Uber to bring both driverless ride-hail and deliveries to life in cities throughout the U.S."

"We're excited to leverage the power of Uber's platform to bring Motional's advanced autonomous technology to a wide range of riders at the push of a button," adds Noah Zych, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery at Uber. "The scope of this partnership shows the important role that shared autonomous vehicles will play in the future of transportation, and in Uber's strategy to be the global platform to help you go anywhere and get anything."

Motional formed in 2020 as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers offering smart mobility solutions, and Aptiv, a global technology company that develops safer, greener, and more connected mobility solutions.