Inside The Race To Put Fully Autonomous Vehicles On EU Roads
Which company will be the first to put truly autonomous vehicles on Europe's roads? Despite stiff competition from US pioneers including Tesla and Waymo, the German start-up MOTOR Ai thinks it could win the race. The company hopes to win approval for its self-driving vehicles to begin using public roads in 2026 – starting in Germany but then moving into other countries in the European Union.
Critically, MOTOR Ai, which is today announcing a $20 million fundraising, is taking a very different approach to the big names in self-driving vehicles. For one thing, it is targeting the public transport market, rather than consumers; it is also retrofitting its technology to existing vehicles, rather than developing a new car; and the artificial intelligence technology it relies on is unconventional too.
It's this final point that gives MOTOR Ai an advantage in Europe, argues Roy Uhlmann, who co-founded the Berlin-based company in 2017 and is now its CEO. Rather than relying on an algorithm based on extensive training from huge datasets, the company's software uses 'active inference', making predictions about how the environment encountered by vehicles will behave; that makes it much easier to present to regulators.
'This technology is very explainable – you can show how every single decision is made, unlike with other types of AI, where decisions are made inside a black box,' Uhlmann says. 'That's vital in the EU because the regulation here requires explainability for approval to be granted for a fully autonomous system.'
MOTOR Ai fits its software to one specific type of vehicle – a Mercedes minivan – which will help with scaling and capacity. The idea is to sell its services to local authorities across Germany – and eventually beyond – to help them provide on-demand public transport services in both urban and rural settings. 'Until we improve the public transport network, we won't get drivers out of their own cars,' says Uhlmann of the sustainability arguments for his business model.
MOTOR Ai has already begun trials of the technology in Berlin, but with a safety driver. It is now seeking approval for 'Level 4' autonomous vehicle operation, which would enable it to take drivers out of the vehicles altogether and to begin offering its services to the public; negotiations to provide public transport are already underway with several German local authorities.
Assuming it gets that approval in early 2026 as expected, MOTOR Ai would be the first company to put fully autonomous cars into full operation on public roads in the EU. Other competitors in this race include the likes of Karsan, which operates buses, and ZF Mobility Solutions, both of which are also in testing. Leading German manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes itself are also pursuing greater autonomy, with competition from the US also a factor. The latter is likely to become fiercer if the EU makes concessions to the Trump Administration on regulation in the sector as part of trade negotiations, as has been predicted.
MOTOR Ai is convinced it can win the race, but the bigger opportunity is to drive change on Europe's roads, says Uhlmann. 'The German Government and the EU are determined to scale autonomous electric vehicles because they see this as key to solving several societal challenges,' he says. Mass adoption of this technology could improve public mobility while supporting climate change mitigation, he points out.
Today's $20 million seed round is led by Segenia Capital and eCAPITAL, with participation from a number of business angels prominent in the mobility sector. 'In a regulated environment like Europe, trust and compliance are non-negotiable,' says Michael Janßen, general partner at Segenia Capital 'MOTOR Ai has built a solution that is not only technologically differentiated, but fundamentally aligned with how Europe thinks about infrastructure and public safety.'
Lucas Merle, principal at eCAPITAL, points to the value of having a German business leading the way, rather than a North American competitor: 'The 'Made in Germany' in-house development reduces inter-dependencies while strengthening Europe's ability to operate in critical innovative technology.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UK launches £650m grant scheme to cut electric car prices
The UK government has announced a £650m ($874.9m) Electric Car Grant (ECG) scheme designed to make electric vehicle (EV) ownership more affordable. This initiative aligns with the UK government's "Plan for Change" and aims to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The scheme offers up to £3,750 off new eligible electric cars, with a price cap set at or under £37,000. The grant is part of the government's commitment to support the nation and other manufacturers that meet the 'highest manufacturing sustainability standards'. Starting from 16 July 2025, drivers can benefit from the discounts once manufacturers have their zero-emission cars approved for the scheme. The funding is available until the 2028 to 2029 financial year, the government said. The grant aims to address the upfront expense barrier cited often by drivers as a hurdle for adoption. By narrowing the cost gap between petrol and EVs, the scheme is expected to offer many drivers access to significant savings. With fuel and running expenses for electric cars being up to £1,500 less per year compared to petrol vehicles, the discount will make zero-emission cars cheaper to purchase and operate. This scheme adds to the government's extensive £63m investment in at-home charging solutions for those with no driveways, transitioning NHS fleets to electric, and installing chargepoints at business depots across the nation. In total, the UK government is dedicating £4.5bn to accelerate the transition to EVs. Complementing the grant scheme is the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which obliges manufacturers to sell a growing percentage of zero-emission vehicles annually. The mandate, along with recent trade deals with India, the US, and the European Union, provides the automotive industry with the certainty and support needed amidst global economic challenges. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money – it'll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century. "And with over 82,000 public chargepoints now available across the UK, we've built the infrastructure families need to make the switch with confidence.' The government has also launched the DRIVE35 programme worth £2.5bn ($3.37bn), aimed at propelling the nation's automotive sector into the future of zero-emission vehicle development. "UK launches £650m grant scheme to cut electric car prices" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
EU's list of US goods it may tariff, latest on China trade talks
The European Union has released a list of countermeasures it may take if President Trump's 30% tariff goes into effect on August 1. Yahoo Finance Senior Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian reports on which companies will be impacted, while Yahoo Finance Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul provides an update on US trade talks with China. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts here. European Union has finalized at list of $84 billion worth of US goods that could face counter measures if the US goes forward with its plans for that 30% tariff on August 1st. Um, so sort of readying these these counter measures. Pras, what would that mean if that indeed that happened for the likes of Boeing and US automakers? Well, you know, you know, out of that 84, 75 billion is industrial goods, right? So 12.8 billion in aircrafts and aircraft supplies and parts, uh machinery, another 10.3 billion, and then around 9.3 billion in autos, right? But but I mean for the Boeings of the world, look, it's going to hit, it's going to hit the Boeings, the precision cast parts, Honeywells, Textrons of the world, like they they the key US suppliers to the aviation sector are going to get hit by this potential tariff. But what the EU is really worried about is that 30% tariff on on goods and 25% sector tariffs that still remain on autos. And look, it's hitting Mercedes bad, it's hitting Porsche bad, hitting Volkswagen and Audi bad. Look, they're all having to take sort of hits to their sort of bottom line because of the fact they're trying to price protect some from buyers, but they can't do that forever. And so the question is, can they get this deal done before 20 before the fall where the 2026 models come out, the new cars come out in the US? So obviously there's a lot at stake with the EU tariffs. Um, you know, we're starting to hear about these other peripheral countries as well, Ben. I want to follow up with you about the Nvidia news today, that this news from Nvidia that they expect that um the US government will start to allow them to get their licenses approved to ship some of their chips into China, the H20 chips. Um is there any indication or is there any movement on talks between China and the US? Yeah, yeah, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson had some commentary this morning on that. He he did an interview on Bloomberg. He his his line there was that this Nvidia chip, he confirmed that Nvidia chips were part of those conversations. He called it a bargaining chip to to to upon between the US and China on these larger trade talks which encompass a lot more issues like rare earth minerals to get to get this Nvidia piece done. Um Besson also confirmed that China talks are continuing. The key deadline to watch there is August 12th, which is when that that 90-day pause runs out. What Besson said is that they're trying to have another meeting either before or after a larger China gathering at the beginning of August to do that. His his overall message is that markets shouldn't be too worried about this August 12th deadline, but that is the looming deadline when when much bigger tariffs could come back on if those talks go sideways. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Verge
an hour ago
- The Verge
Uber is close to completing its quest to become the ultimate robotaxi app
Uber just announced a deal today with the company that runs one of the largest robotaxi fleets in China, as the ridehail giant nears its goal of becoming the world's ultimate autonomous vehicle clearinghouse. Uber and Baidu said they are teaming up to deploy robotaxis in countries outside the US and China, with an initial focus on Asia and the Middle East. Baidu is currently testing vehicles in Dubai and has also said it wants to eventually launch in Europe. Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi division operates approximately 1,000 vehicles globally, most of which operate in China. The company said it completed 1.4 million paid trips in its driverless vehicles in the first quarter of 2025, which is a 75 percent increase year over year. Ever since abandoning its own efforts to develop autonomous vehicle technology, Uber has stepped up its effort to strike deals with a variety of companies, from robotaxi leaders like Waymo to delivery robot operators like Serve and Avride. The company has said it wants to use its reach and scale to help autonomous vehicles proliferate across the globe. And it doesn't want to just work with a few AV operators — it wants to work with all of them. Uber doesn't want to just work with a few AV operators — it wants to work with all of them 'We want to work with all the software providers,' Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a Decoder interview in May, 'make sure they're safe and affordable, and bring them to market.' The 'making sure they're safe and affordable' is really the most important part. If riders trust Uber — and for the most part, customers do seem to trust the company to send them a car when needed — then it stands to reason they'll extend that trust to include autonomous vehicles, if and when Uber decides to send them a robotaxi. That's what's happening right now in Austin and Atlanta, where Uber's partnership with Waymo serves as a preview of what's the come: human-driven Uber vehicles operating alongside driverless Waymo ones, all within the same app. In addition to Baidu, Uber has partnerships with Waymo, Motional, Avride, May Mobility, Momenta, Volvo, Volkswagen, Wayve, and WeRide for self-driving cars; Serve, Coco, Cartken, and Nuro for delivery robots; Aurora and Torc for freight; and Avomo and Moove Cars for fleet management. Uber's decision to play nicely with all these companies probably won't come at the expense of future ruthlessness. Uber knows it will also need to eventually compete with robotaxis, especially in markets like San Francisco where Waymo is growing by leaps and bounds. Customers have to use Waymo's own app in SF, and some reports suggest that Waymo has already captured nearly a third of the ride-hailing market in that city, which translates into lost revenue for Uber. One of the big names missing from that list of collaborators is Tesla. Elon Musk's company recently launched a limited, supervised, non-public robotaxi service in Austin, and he has said he wants to expand to California and Arizona in the months to come. Khosrowshahi said on Decoder that he sees Tesla as a competitor, albeit a minor one with 'less demand.' And he has questions about Tesla's camera-only perception system that does not include redundant sensors like lidar. 'From my standpoint — and this is judgment — you really need superhuman safety,' Khosrowshahi said. 'Superhuman, to me, doesn't mean better than a human. It means five times better than a human. I think the data suggests that Waymo is around that level. It's not 100 percent clear to me whether camera-only can get there.' One of the big names missing from that list is Tesla As a financial move, Uber's effort to swallow the world of autonomous vehicles is a smart one. The company reaps the benefits of deploying robotaxis on its app — a share of fare revenue, positive association with a futuristic technology — without having to shoulder the enormous costs of developing the tech and the software needed to power the vehicles. Of course, Uber was once heavily invested in the idea of building its own self-driving cars. But the project blew up spectacularly, with allegations of trade secret theft and patent infringement, as well as a 2018 crash that killed a pedestrian in Arizona. But that impulse didn't completely fade away — at least not for Uber founder and ex-CEO Travis Kalanick. Recall this is the guy who framed the race to develop AVs as an 'existential terms' pursuit for Uber. After he was ousted from the company in 2017, Kalanick built up a ghost kitchens startup, but his sight never truly strayed from the original dream of owning a fleet of robotaxis. Now he's trying to buy a self-driving car company that is mostly based in China. And according to The New York Times, Uber could help him finance the deal. But under Khosrowshahi's leadership, Uber is mostly focused on deals and partnerships. Robotaxi operators are teaming up with Uber because that's where all the customers exist. Who wants to spend all their time building a ridehail app from the ground up when Uber already has one that's used in most countries across the world? The latest deal with Baidu reveals how Uber's aggressive global expansion can pay dividends. China has its own rules, but if Uber can prove that it can play cooperatively with some of the country's biggest companies, that could help Baidu and other Chinese firms with global ambitions find their way into new markets. And that could work out equally well for Uber — if not more so.
