Renault made some big announcements overnight, outlining major changes to its autonomous vehicle strategy and announcing the production (no dates specified) of a robotized electric miniBus based on the New Renault Master.
The new robotized electric miniBus is intended to be a platform suitable for customization by specialist mobility partners such as EasyMile, Milla and WeRide.
The platform is designed to integrate the automation solutions from these partners.
The biggest change in Renault’s autonomous vehicle strategy involves focusing its more advanced autonomous technologies on the public transportation sector, and its intention to separate the expectations for individual vehicles from the needs of public transportation.
On the consumer side of things, Renault has stated that it is unlikely to offer much more than Level 2 Autonomy in its consumer vehicles in the near future.
Renault already offers high driving assistance on most of its models, but the company's press statement noted that “the automation of some functions, with the aim of achieving complete vehicle autonomy, seems unlikely for the time being, given current regulations, customer expectations and the cost of the complex technology involved.”
It’s a radical change from the concept cars we have been witnessing from Renault over the last decade, where high level autonomous consumer vehicles were showcased each year.
Renault's press statement continued: "There is a significant technological complexity gap between level L2 automation and level L3 autonomy, because the vehicle must be able to operate safely in complex environments with limited driver supervision. At this stage, the induced cost to be borne by customers, in relation to the driving benefits, would make demand insufficient or even anecdotal.
"At the same time, the Group is making sure that the architecture of its vehicles can evolve towards the autonomous car if expectations, regulations, or the cost of technologies make this breakthrough feasible.
"On the other hand, when it comes to public transportation, Renault Group sees the relevance of offering autonomous vehicles, with an annual need estimated at several thousand miniBuses over the next few years."
Autonomous shuttles for the 2024 French Open
The 2024 French Open will be held in Paris from 20 May to 9 June 2024, and Renault and WeRide will be trialing electric and autonomous shuttles to help with access to the Roland-Garros stadium during the event. It’s a great opportunity to sample the near future of motoring, and the advancing maturity of autonomous technology.
Experimentation with autonomous public transport has been underway for several years, and Renault says that more partnerships are to be announced.
Source: Renault
