Renault-Nissan Alliance and Transdev to develop driverless vehicle fleet system

The companies will collaborate to develop a transportation system that will enable clients to book rides, and mobility operators to monitor and operate self-driving electric car fleets.

“As the mobility services landscape keeps evolving, we have a great opportunity to offer innovative, connected mobility solutions for the evolving needs of our customers, fully aligned with our vision of a zero-emission, zero-fatalities society,” said Ogi Redzic, Renault-Nissan Alliance senior vice president of connected vehicles and mobility services. “Partnering with Transdev allows us to share our knowledge as leaders in electric vehicles, autonomous drive and connected-car technologies with one of the largest multi-modal mobility operators worldwide. Together we will develop an advanced driverless mobility system that will enhance existing public and on-demand transport systems.”

The research will initially include field tests in Paris-Saclay with Renault ZOE electric vehicles in Europe, and Transdev’s on-demand dispatch, supervision and routing platform.

Transdev is a 70% owned subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts in which Veolia has a shareholding of 30%. It is a consultant for public transport authorities and supports them in everything from the pre-project phase to project management assistance to daily operation of public transport networks.

The company is also engaged in a series of pilot autonomous vehicle (AV) deployments in multiple countries and is currently operating the world’s first commercial driverless service on EDF’s campus in Civaux, France. Transdev is accelerating the development of its AV operating system working with leading partners including Vedecom and SystemX.

“The future of mobility will be P.A.C.E. – Personalised, Autonomous, Connected and Electric,” said Yann Leriche, chief performance officer at Transdev. “We are committed to pioneer in mobility to always offer our clients the best solutions for their journeys. Our partnership with Renault-Nissan will reinforce our innovation capabilities and accelerate our time-to-market by combining our strengths with those of a global car manufacturer that shares the same willingness to enhance daily mobility to the benefit of clients.”

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has already formed a number of partnerships to develop advanced connected-car technologies and mobility services. These include a partnership with Microsoft to develop a single global platform that will improve the customer experience by making driving more intuitive, intelligent and fun; and a partnership with Japanese internet company DeNA to begin tests in Japan to develop driverless vehicles for commercial services.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a strategic partnership between Groupe Renault of France and Japan-based Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors. The automakers combined sold 9.96 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2016 – more than one in nine vehicles worldwide. The alliance has strategic collaborations with other automakers, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. It also owns a majority stake in the joint venture that controls Russia’s top automaker, AVTOVAZ.