Stellantis and Bolt will begin Level 4 autonomous vehicle tests in two years.

In short:

Stellantis, Bolt, and the Greater Paris Region aim to launch autonomous mobility services by 2028.

The first pilot project will cover up to five municipalities in the northwestern part of the metropolitan area.

The project is designed to explore how autonomous vehicles can support public transportation and address the so-called first and last mile problem.

If the tests are successful and regulatory approvals are obtained, the services could extend to around 30 municipalities by 2030.

Autonomy in Stellantis Vehicles

Cities on the Old Continent are increasingly exploring autonomous mobility, but few projects match the scale of the plans recently announced for the Paris metropolitan area. Stellantis, Bolt, and Métropole du Grand Paris have jointly announced the start of work on an autonomous passenger transport project that could become one of the most significant tests of this technology in Europe.

The initiative is called the Greater Paris Autonomous Driving Living Lab and has been submitted to the Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities (ADACities) program, which supports the development of autonomous mobility services in European cities, according to industry media.

First autonomous trips in 2028

According to the plans presented, the first phase of the project is set to begin in 2028. The pilot program will involve up to five municipalities located in the northwestern part of the Paris metropolitan area. The tests are intended to assess how autonomous vehicles perform in real urban conditions. Safety, operational reliability, passenger experiences, and integration with the existing public transportation system will among other things be analyzed.

The partners also want to examine the economic, social, and environmental impacts of introducing driverless transportation.

If the tests are successful and the project obtains the required regulatory approvals, the services could be expanded to around 30 municipalities by 2030. The long-term goal is to launch commercial autonomous transportation services.

Autonomous vehicles are meant to support public transport

The project’s creators emphasize that autonomous vehicles are not intended to compete with buses, subways, or commuter trains. Their role is to complement the existing transportation system in areas where service offerings are limited or less convenient.

This is particularly important in a metropolis with about 7.2 million residents that boasts one of the most extensive public transportation networks in Europe. Despite billions of euros in investments, including the Grand Paris Express project, there are still areas with poor transportation access.

The solution lies in autonomous transportation services that could handle what’s known as the first and last mile, meaning trips between residential areas, public transit stations, and employment centers. Applications in large-scale events and during periods of lower passenger traffic are also being considered.

Stellantis at Level 4

Stellantis will be responsible for the technological side. The company will provide vehicles based on its L4-Ready platforms, designed to utilize Level 4 autonomous driving technology.

This means the ability to operate without driver intervention under strictly defined operational conditions. In practice, the system takes full control of the vehicle on designated routes and within a specified operating environment.

Bolt, through its Bolt Autonomous Driving Solutions unit, will handle service integration and the preparation of the implementation model. The company aims to combine autonomous vehicles, autonomous driving technology, and its own mobility platform into a cohesive system tailored to residents' needs.

Pony.ai has been identified as a potential provider of autonomous driving technology. Its solutions are set to be supported by NVIDIA Hyperion platform and NVIDIA Halos safety system.

Safety as a key criterion

One of the main goals of the project is to create practical frameworks for evaluating autonomous mobility in a large European city. Independent assessments conducted under the supervision of city authorities will cover operational safety, service quality, public acceptance, integration with public transportation, and potential environmental benefits.

The costs of operating such a system will also be analyzed, along with the conditions necessary to develop an economically viable business model.

The data collected during the pilot phase are intended to help authorities better understand how driverless vehicles interact with existing transportation infrastructure. It is this data that will determine whether autonomous transportation becomes a permanent part of the transportation landscape in Greater Paris in the future.

Oskar Włostowski