Autonomous Movers Set for US Launch in 2024

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Purpose-built, fully electric, autonomous movers are expected on public roadways in the U.S. starting in 2024.
• Project aims to help address "micro-transit" inequities in first- and last-mile transportation networks -- including road congestion, road safety and mobility access.
• Together, Benteler Electric Vehicle Systems, Beep and Mobileye can address the end-to-end requirements for developing and deploying autonomous movers with competencies encompassing scalable vehicle development, end-to-end systems integration, autonomous driving platforms and turnkey mobility operations management and technology.

PADERBORN, Germany; LAKE NONA, Florida; JERUSALEM, Feb. 14, 2022 – Benteler EV Systems, Beep Inc., and Mobileye, an Intel Company, today announced a strategic collaboration to develop and deploy automotive-grade, fully electric, autonomous movers in public and private communities across North America. Aimed at first- and last-mile use cases in urban areas, the shuttles are due to begin production deployments in the United States in 2024.

The collaboration between Benteler EV Systems, Beep and Mobileye will facilitate the development and deployment of a fully autonomous (SAE Level 4) electric mover for the U.S. designed to meet automotive industry and safety standards for public road use. The purpose-built autonomous mover from Benteler EV Systems will be underpinned by Mobileye’s industry leading self-driving system, Mobileye Drive™, and supported by Beep’s proven deployment and operations systems, technology and services.

“Multipassenger micro-transit needs are ever-increasing in our cities and towns globally and must be addressed in order to reduce road congestion, protect the environment and provide safe, reliable mobility for all to access,” explained Hinrich Woebcken, advisory board member for Beep and former CEO of Volkswagen North America. “Bringing to market an affordable, automotive-grade, electric, autonomous mover is a solution that will transform mobility as we know it today.”

The trio can draw upon years of experience in important aspects of autonomous solutions – Beep in the operations of micro-transit and mobility solutions, Benteler EV Systems in the design and manufacturing of automotive solutions and safety systems, and Mobileye in the delivery of automated driving solutions.

Collaboration Taps into Cross-Industry Experience

Benteler EV Systems, a Benteler company and undisputed expert in full system technology for electric vehicles, is well known for its scalable and modular platform for electric vehicles, the Benteler Electric Drive System. Offering first-class engineering, excellent vehicle integration and global manufacturing expertise, Benteler EV Systems will develop an autonomous mover and integrate all individual subsystems into the final vehicle. This includes the industrialization and production of the mover. Production will take place in the U.S., with the ambition to roll out the mover to other countries helping deliver the mobility of the future.

 “Autonomous movers are the solution for future public transportation, solving the mobility challenges of increasing urbanization and emissions,” said Marco Kollmeier, managing director of Benteler EV Systems GmbH. “These movers need to be robust for 24/7 public or commercial use, at optimized costs and with excellent riding comfort. Consequently, we decided to go for this strategic collaboration with our partners Mobileye and Beep, to build autonomous movers delivering exactly against these market demands. Another example of how we make the mobility of tomorrow lighter, safer and more sustainable.”

 Mobileye is a market leader in autonomous driving solutions, having shipped more than 100 million of its leading computer vision solutions for the established driving-assistance market. With one of the most widely dispersed autonomous fleet in the world, operating in Israel, Germany, Japan, China, France and the U.S., Mobileye is proving daily the capabilities of its Mobileye Drive self-driving system.

“The full benefits of autonomy can only be reached with scale. Working with Beep and Benteler, Mobileye aims to mass-produce first- and last-mile self-driving mobility solutions that will enable the convenient, accessible and safe movement of people across North America,” said Johann Jungwirth, vice president of Mobility-as-a-Service at Mobileye.

Beep enjoys a leadership position in the U.S., having successfully tested autonomous electric shuttles in many public road projects for tens of thousands of riders over tens of thousands of road miles in 2021 alone. The company’s service and technology are estimated to have prevented many cubic tons of carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuel-based transit services with cleaner electric vehicles. Beep has worked closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of its autonomous vehicle test programs and is applying those years of learning to assist in the design of the new platform with an emphasis on safety.   

“Beep’s well-established U.S. footprint for our autonomous mobility operations model, which incorporates machine learning, contextual route intelligence and Beep’s existing centralized command center platform, combine with Benteler’s and Mobileye’s manufacturing expertise to make this the first alignment of all capabilities needed to successfully scale the deployment of this important transformation in passenger mobility,” said Joe Moye, CEO of Beep.

About Beep

Beep delivers the next generation of mobility services utilizing driverless, electric, multi-passenger vehicles. By specializing in planning, deploying and managing advanced autonomous shuttles for both private and public communities, Beep safely connects people, places and services in first-mile, last-mile mobility networks. Beep also leverages the data and learnings from its public road deployments to produce vehicle agnostic, edge solutions meant to enhance safety, access, artificial-intelligence and driverless operating capabilities of autonomous platforms.  Beep delivers on a primary goal of enabling mobility-for-all with the services and software they provide. www.ridebeep.com

About Benteler and Benteler Electric Vehicle Systems

Benteler is an internationally operating family business serving customers in the automotive, energy and mechanical engineering sectors. As metal processing specialists, we develop, produce and distribute safety-related products, systems and services worldwide. Our 27,000 employees at 98 locations in 28 countries offer first-class manufacturing and sales competence – all dedicated to delivering a first-class service wherever our customers need us. Our automotive products include components and modules for chassis and body, engine and exhaust systems as well as solutions for electric vehicles. Together, we make mobility lighter, safer and more sustainable. Benteler EV Systems, a company of the Benteler Group, is the undisputed expert in full system technology for electric vehicles: With its profound expertise in automotive engineering and industrialization combined with the constant implementation of new e-mobility technologies, Benteler EV Systems is the enabler and accelerator of future mobility. The company strives to become the worldwide leading supplier for open platform solutions covering all relevant technologies of electric vehicles. www.benteler.com/

About Mobileye

Mobileye is a global leader in the development of computer vision and machine learning, data analysis, localization and mapping for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and autonomous driving. Mobileye’s technology helps keep passengers safer on the roads, reduces the risks of traffic accidents, saves lives and has the potential to revolutionize the driving experience by enabling autonomous driving. Mobileye’s proprietary software algorithms and EyeQ® chips perform detailed interpretations of the visual field in order to anticipate possible collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, animals, debris and other obstacles. More than 100 million EyeQ chips have already been deployed in vehicles globally. www.mobileye.com.  

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