Motional, a global driverless technology leader, and Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) today announced a partnership to launch autonomous deliveries for Uber customers, starting in Santa Monica in early 2022. Motional's all-electric vehicles will conduct deliveries of a curated set of meal kits from select restaurants on Uber Eats. The partnership represents industry-shaping firsts for both companies; Motional's expansion into driverless delivery and Uber's first on-road delivery partnership with an autonomous vehicle (AV) technology provider. 

Motional will use its next-generation autonomous vehicle, the all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5-based robotaxi, with in-vehicle modifications in place to enable autonomous deliveries. This will be the first time Motional's SAE Level 4 vehicles are used for delivery applications, and signals the company's evolution to a dual-purpose product strategy. 

"Today, Motional enters the autonomous delivery market," said Karl Iagnemma, Motional's President and CEO. "We're proud that our first delivery partner is Uber and are eager to begin using our trusted driverless technology to offer efficient and convenient deliveries to customers in California. We're confident this will be a successful collaboration with Uber and see many long-term opportunities for further deploying Motional's technology across the Uber platform." 

"We're excited to partner with Motional to test a new kind of delivery for Uber Eats consumers in 2022," said Sarfraz Maredia, VP and Head of Uber Eats in the US & Canada. "Our consumers and merchant partners have come to expect convenience, reliability and innovation from Uber, and this collaboration represents a huge opportunity to meet —and exceed— those expectations."

Partnership Brings Together Two Industry Leaders 

Motional is at the forefront of the driverless industry and is one of the world's leaders in commercial robotaxi services. The company has distinguished itself for its advanced driverless technology, exceptional safety record, and superior customer experience. Motional's partnership with Uber will leverage its industry-leading expertise in operating commercial autonomous fleets and integrating its technology with on-demand consumer applications. 

Uber Eats delivers instant access to local commerce, helping people across the world discover restaurants and merchants, order meals, groceries, alcohol, and more at the touch of a button—and get it delivered reliably and quickly. The business leverages Uber's technology and logistics expertise to partner with 780,000 merchants in 6,000+ cities globally, while keeping average delivery time under 30 minutes. 

The partners see autonomous vehicles (AVs) playing an important role in the on-demand delivery ecosystem, with AVs helping to increase access to convenient and affordable deliveries. Motional and Uber look forward to sharing more service details ahead of launch next year. 

For more information on Motional, visit www.Motional.com/news, and for more information on Uber, visit www.uber.com/newsroom.  

About Motional 

Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. The company formed in 2020 as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers offering smart mobility solutions, and Aptiv, a global industrial technology leader in advanced safety, electrification, and vehicle connectivity. 

The Motional team has driven some of the driverless industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's most-established public robotaxi fleet which has conducted over 100,000 public rides. 

Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia. For more information, visit www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 

About Uber

Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 25 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.