Motional, Uber Collaborate Over Autonomous Ride-Hailing Delivery

Motional, a global driverless technology company, and Uber Technologies Inc UBER forged a commercial agreement to offer fully driverless rides using Motional's new all-electric IONIQ 5-based robotaxis.
Motional is an autonomous driving joint venture between Hyundai Motor Co, Ltd HYMLF and Aptiv Plc APTV.
The 10-year, multimarket agreement creates the opportunity for effective scaling and broad adoption of AVs by pairing Motional's advanced driverless technology with Uber's network of millions of customers.
"This agreement will be instrumental to the wide-scale adoption of robotaxis," Motional CEO Karl Iagnemma said.
The companies will strategically deploy the service in cities across the U.S., with the first trips expected to start later this year.
Motional is ready to become the first AV company to offer delivery and ride-hail services within a major network like Uber.
The new agreement also enables further expansion of Motional's AVs for delivery with Uber Eats.
In September, Uber forged a multi-year partnership with leading autonomous vehicle company, Nuro to use the latter's autonomous, electric vehicles for food deliveries in the U.S.
Related: Uber Forges EV Food Delivery Partnership With Nuro
Price Action: UBER shares traded lower by 2.36% at $29.87 on the last check Thursday.