Enlarge (credit: Aurora)
Autonomous driving startup Aurora announced on Tuesday that it has scored a partnership with Toyota to build self-driving taxis based on the Toyota Sienna minivan. Aurora says it’s aiming to have a fleet of Sienna prototypes ready for testing on public roads by the end of the year. Denso, a major Japanese auto parts manufacturer, will also contribute to the project.
It’s a significant win for Aurora, which has struggled to figure out its business model in a fast-changing industry. A couple of years ago, Aurora’s plan was to supply self-driving software and sensors to automaking incumbents. The company had a partnership with Volkswagen that was supposed to lead to Aurora’s technology being incorporated into Volkswagen’s vehicles, with plans to launch a self-driving taxi service. But the two companies parted ways in 2019, calling Aurora’s strategy into question. Aurora did sign an investment deal with Hyundai around the same time, but they’ve said little about that relationship since then.
Later in 2019, Aurora pivoted to long-haul trucking as the first application for its self-driving technology. Some consider trucking to be an attractive market for a self-driving startup because freeways are a relatively simple environment for software to understand. Last month, Aurora announced a partnership with truck maker PACCAR to build self-driving semi trucks.
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