Motional, the $4 billion collaboration between Aptiv and Hyundai focused on bringing self-driving technology to market, intends to initiate completely driverless robotaxi services in several major U.S. metropolitan areas during 2023, utilizing the Lyft transportation network.

This marks the first instance of Motional publicly stating a specific timeframe for the rollout of its robotaxi service. While Lyft has previously collaborated with Motional in Las Vegas, this is the first indication that the ride-sharing company will serve as the primary partner in the autonomous vehicle company’s plans for commercial deployment.

This announcement comes after Nevada granted Motional approval last month to conduct testing of fully driverless vehicles – those operating without a human safety driver present – on the state’s public roadways.

Motional and Lyft have maintained a partnership for three years, beginning with a pilot program initially planned for one week to offer rides in autonomous vehicles through the Lyft network in Las Vegas during the 2018 CES technology event.

This collaboration predates the joint venture established with Hyundai. At that time, Motional operated under the name Aptiv Autonomous Mobility Group. The initial experiment, which consistently included a human safety driver, was prolonged and continues to this day. By February 2020, the program had facilitated over 100,000 paid rides in Aptiv’s – now Motional’s – self-driving vehicles, as reported within the Lyft application.

Aptiv’s presence in Las Vegas expanded alongside the growth in ridership. The company established a 130,000-square-foot technical facility in the city in December 2018 to accommodate its fleet of autonomous vehicles, along with an engineering team dedicated to the research, development, validation, and mapping of software and hardware systems.

Motional characterizes today’s announcement as a significant advancement for the partnership. The robotaxi services will employ next-generation vehicles built on a Hyundai vehicle platform. These vehicles will incorporate sensors, computing systems, and software to enable fully autonomous operation, along with the capability for remote vehicle support. Motional, currently utilizing BMW 5 Series vehicles and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, also stated that its fleet will experience substantial growth.

The companies have not disclosed the specific cities where the service will be available or the exact size of the vehicle fleets. Motional currently conducts testing operations in Boston, Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh. Motional also indicated that this robotaxi service partnership with Lyft will extend beyond the initial launch locations. However, this does not imply that Lyft will be its exclusive partner. Earlier in the year, Motional reached an agreement with on-demand shuttle provider Via to introduce a shared robotaxi service for public use in a U.S. city during the first half of 2021. The objective of this collaboration is to create a model for on-demand shared robotaxis and to assess how these driverless vehicles can be integrated into public transportation systems.

“This agreement underscores our position as a global leader in driverless technology. We are pioneering transportation innovation, transitioning robotaxis from the research phase to practical application,” stated Motional President and CEO Karl Iagnemma. “Our goal is to develop safe, dependable, and accessible driverless vehicles and to deploy them on a large scale. We are collaborating with Lyft to achieve precisely that.”