Toyota and US driverless systems developer Aurora began testing driverless cars in the US state of Texas. The cars are mainly used to provide ride-hailing services. The test was equipped with two safety operators and no passengers.
The companies put the Aurora self-driving system into Sienna cars, ready to be tested on highways and country streets, as well as on the road to the airport. The investment in autonomous driving research and development is huge, but so far startups have not been able to generate enough revenue from it, and there are also technical obstacles to expanding the scale of autonomous vehicle fleets.
Aurora will continue to add driverless cars to its fleet in preparation for the launch of a commercial ride-hailing network, similar to Uber, that can generate lucrative revenue. In 2020, Aurora acquires Uber’s self-driving unit, while Uber acquires a 26% stake in Aurora.