US car manufacturer announcement follows, “Increasingly competitive sector”
Honda will formalize the cancellation of the agreement with General Motors which provided for a joint venture for the development of self-driving taxis, after the US car manufacturer anticipated the halt to investments in the sector. The two automakers had planned to begin taxi operations in Tokyo in 2026, using a vehicle classified as a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, the second highest of the five scales planned for this technology. This level means that vehicles are fully automated under certain conditions.
In a statement released yesterday, GM said it would no longer allocate funds for the development of driverless taxis, citing the “considerable time and resources that would be required for the activities”, as well as the pressures of a market that becomes “increasingly competitive”. Honda has announced that it will sell its holdings in a division specialized in the sector to the US car manufacturer.
Compared to other countries such as the United States and China, Japan is struggling to keep up with the development plans for self-driving taxis, in a demographic context that is experiencing a progressive contraction of the population and an alarming shortage of drivers in the sector. of transport.
