Motional Expands Las Vegas Operations for 2023 Robotaxi Launch

Motional Expands Las Vegas Presence for 2023 Robotaxi Launch

Motional, a leading autonomous vehicle company, is significantly increasing its operational footprint and workforce in Las Vegas. This expansion includes a tripling of the size of its testing capabilities, directly supporting the anticipated 2023 commercial rollout of its robotaxi service.

Early Testing and Development

Established nearly four years ago as a $4 billion joint venture between Aptiv and Hyundai, Motional initially began testing its autonomous technology in Las Vegas through a collaborative effort with Lyft.

This initial partnership, launched during the 2018 CES tech trade show, began as a week-long pilot program offering autonomous rides via the Lyft network.

Evolution of the Program

Prior to the Hyundai joint venture, the company operated as Aptiv Autonomous Mobility Group. The initial experiment, always overseen by a human safety driver, proved successful and was extended, continuing 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 tracked through the Lyft application. Current ride statistics haven’t been publicly released by Motional.

Broader Nevada Operations

Motional’s activities within Nevada aren’t limited to the Lyft partnership. The company consistently conducts testing on publicly accessible roads throughout the state.

Facility and Workforce Growth

The expansion of Motional’s Las Vegas facility also encompasses a doubling of its operations center. This means the company is now fully utilizing its 130,000-square-foot technical center.

This center serves as a hub for the company’s fleet of autonomous vehicles, alongside a dedicated engineering team focused on the research, development, validation, and mapping of both software and hardware systems.

To support this growth, Motional is actively recruiting over 100 new employees, bringing the total Las Vegas workforce to more than 250 individuals.

Preparing for Next-Generation Robotaxis

The expanded operations, including a closed testing track capable of four times the current testing volume, are geared towards preparing Motional’s next-generation robotaxi. This vehicle is based on the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5.

According to Motional’s President and CEO, Karl Iagnemma, the expansion will accelerate testing procedures in advance of the fully driverless robotaxi’s commercial deployment in 2023.

Expansion Beyond Nevada

This Las Vegas announcement follows a recent expansion of Motional’s operations in California, revealed in August. The company opened a new operations facility in Los Angeles to facilitate public road testing and established an additional office in Silicon Valley, adding to its engineering staff.

Company-Wide Growth

These investments in both California and Nevada are part of a broader hiring initiative that has increased Motional’s total employee count to over 1,000. The company has also expanded into Seoul and announced plans in December to launch fully driverless robotaxi services in major U.S. cities in 2023, leveraging the Lyft ride-hailing network.

Investment Details

While Motional has not disclosed the specific financial investment in the California expansion, a company spokesperson confirmed that the Las Vegas plans represent the company’s “largest investment in our Nevada operations.”

Note: It has been clarified that Motional is doubling its operations by utilizing the entire technical center and adding personnel, rather than physically doubling the facility’s size.