Daimler has started testing autonomous taxis in California to gather user feedback, according to reports from Automotive News Europe. About 30 vehicles, mostly Mercedes-Benz S-class sedans equipped with sensor arrays including long-distance, laser-scanning lidar, are taking part in the test in San Diego. The news comes despite the German automaker’s CEO saying the company plans to “rightsize” its spending on self-driving vehicles.

3 On The Streets Of San Jose

Engadget

Testing of Level 4 cars on public roads in Stuttgart, Germany has already been under way, but the cars hitting the streets in San Jose are the first to have occupants who are not employed by Daimler to ride in the vehicles. As a safety measure, a driver is placed behind the wheel of each vehicle at all times. The purpose of the pilot program is to get feedback from customers on what they expect from a self-driving taxi.

2 Why San Jose?

Wired

In November 2018, Daimler and Robert Bosch said that San Jose would be the pilot city for trials of an automated taxi service, which was expected to begin in the second half of this year. Over the next two decades, San Jose’s population is expected to grow by 40 percent and the city wants to prepare for a future where self-driving vehicles take to the streets, according to the company.

1 Daimler’s Future With Self Driving Cars

The Car Connection

Despite Daimler and Bosch’s plan to expand the pilot program beyond San Jose, California, the company as a whole is more likely to apply their autonomous-driving technology to commercial vehicles for freight companies on long haul routes than taxis, according to Kallenius. Even though the company will continue with self-driving taxis, Daimler believes there is a greater chance of generating funds quickly with autonomous driving applications for heavy trucks hauling goods than with passenger cars taxiing people.

"At this juncture to be the first one out to do something like that at scale does not make sense," said Kallenius. "We are not stopping developing the robotaxis. We will go into the market when it's right, and we do not think that is in the short to midterm.”

Source: Autonews