Hyundai-Aptiv joint venture Motional unveils its first Lyft robotaxi

Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, has unveiled its first robotaxi that will be available via Lyft’s app.

The all-electric IONIQ 5 robotaxi is based on the same vehicle that launched worldwide earlier this year. As a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, it can safely operate without a driver.

Woongjun Jang, Head of the Autonomous Driving Center at Hyundai Motor Group, said:

“Hyundai Motor has evolved its IONIQ 5, a battery electric vehicle built on...

1 September 2021 | Applications

Toyota subsidiary to acquire Lyft’s autonomous vehicle division

Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet has announced that it’s acquiring Lyft’s autonomous vehicle division for $550 million.

The division, known as Level 5, has established itself among the leaders in the development of autonomous driving technologies.

Logan Green, Co-Founder and CEO of Lyft, said:

“Today’s announcement launches Lyft into the next phase of an incredible journey to bring our mission to life. Lyft has spent nine years building a transportation...

27 April 2021 | Connected Vehicles

Proposition 22 was the big vote this week for Uber and Lyft

All eyes are on the presidential election, but the big vote for Uber and Lyft this week was on Proposition 22 in California.

Proposition 22 exempts gig companies from AB5, a labour law passed in 2019 which extended employee protections to gig workers like Uber and Lyft drivers.

Voters in California passed the law with around 58% of ballots in favour after intense campaign efforts from not just the ridesharing giants but also companies like Instacart and DoorDash which...

4 November 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Uber and Lyft lose appeal to avoid classifying drivers as employees

Uber and Lyft have been ordered to classify their drivers as employees by a Californian court after losing an appeal.

The ride-hailing giants classify their drivers as contractors which means they can avoid giving many of the usual rights and benefits afforded to employees. Uber and Lyft argue most drivers prefer the flexibility of so-called gig economy work.

Most groups representing drivers for the companies appear to be in favour of them being classed as employees....

23 October 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Uber is laying off 14% of staff due to COVID-19, Lyft says its biz is down 70%

COVID-19 is having an obvious negative impact on the ride-hailing industry, with Uber and Lyft reporting huge losses.

Uber has announced it's being forced to cut 3,700 employees amid the crisis, accounting for around 14 percent of its workforce. The redundancies will predominantly hit Uber's recruiting and CommOps teams. 

“With people taking fewer trips, the unfortunate reality is that there isn’t enough work for many of our front-line customer support...

7 May 2020 | Connected Vehicles