Lucid, Bolt plan 25,000 robotaxis for Europe

Bolt and Lucid Motors are planning to put at least 25,000 self-driving vehicles on European roads, the Estonian mobility company and U.S. electric-car maker announced today. If the plan goes ahead, it would be Lucid’s biggest robotaxi commitment to date and give Bolt a vehicle designed specifically for its push into autonomous ride-hailing.

However, there are still no firm orders placed yet, and no transactions have been done. Bolt has not ordered a single Lucid vehicle, which makes the 25,000 autonomous vehicle target a plan on paper and not an actual committed purchase.

Bolt would own and run the fleet

The vehicles will be built on Lucid’s upcoming mid-size EV platform, which the company says will be smaller and cheaper than its current models, according to TechCrunch. Bolt plans to own and operate the fleet instead of getting the vehicles on a lease, while the two sides will develop the platform with autonomous driving in mind from the start, according to a press release.

The vehicles are expected to use Nvidia’s Hyperion platform for the computing and sensors needed for autonomous driving. However, it remains unclear who will provide the software that actually controls the vehicle, and neither Bolt nor Lucid has named any particular autonomous-driving software provider in their announcements.

Bolt’s mobility app operates in more than 850 cities, giving the company years of experience running transport services across Europe, and even globally. Founder and CEO Markus Villig said that experience will shape how the two companies approach autonomous driving, with the goal of building a system suited to European roads and regulations. He added that Bolt and Lucid will “co-design the vehicle and software,” drawing on Bolt’s vast operating experience.

The 25,000 vehicle target would be the first part of Bolt’s much bigger goal of having 100,000 autonomous vehicles on its platform by 2035, and the partnership with Lucid is expected to move the ride-hailing giant even closer to this target.

Lucid pivots to robotaxis under new CEO

The partnership comes as Lucid looks to shift its business toward new growth opportunities. Since taking over as CEO, Silvio Napoli has cut nearly 20% of the workforce and delayed the launch of its first mid-size vehicle by almost a year, to the second half of 2027, according to TechCrunch. That makes the robotaxi market an important part of the company’s strategy, with Napoli arguing that supplying vehicles for autonomous fleets could deliver margins that “vastly” exceed those of its traditional retail business.

Lucid is yet to launch any commercial robotaxi. The company has spent the past year working with Uber and autonomous-driving firm Nuro on a self-driving version of its Gravity SUV, with a launch targeted for the end of 2026.

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