3 ms·
There are some research teams that have done European demos, but honestly, no. The European automakers have the technical ability, but have repeatedly failed at
by AlotOfReading 3y ago
There are some research teams that have done European demos, but honestly, no. The European automakers have the technical ability, but have repeatedly failed at organizational competence and understanding the right design mindset.
The EU regulatory environment has also been very different than the US on this subject. NHTSA and the various DMVs have been very laissez-faire about robotaxis, not banning them and allowing some level of (frankly unsafe) testing. The EU has taken a more traditional approach, where public road deployments will require type classification, which necessitates a whole bunch of legislation exist. For L2/L3 vehicles, that only recently came into existence. That framework doesn't exist for L4+ vehicles, so they cannot currently be deployed in Europe regardless of development status.
- kekeblom 3y agoEven if it was possible from a legislative perspective, European cities are also considerably harder to drive in than American cities that are cars first with wider lanes and clear grid layouts. Most parts of Europe also have more variable weather conditions. But yeah, it is indeed also sad that Europe does not have a single credible horse in the race.
- AlotOfReading 3y agoWeather isn't really an issue. People would just test in the wide, sunny streets of Madrid (or some other overgrown, southern city) if they wanted to avoid those sorts of issues. Europe simply isn't seen as viable for development right now. The regulatory environment is certainly noted and prepped for though.