Renault has partnered with WeRide to operate self-driving shuttles on public roads
Level 3+ functions for cars “unlikely for the time being” says Renault, but Master-based robobus is inbound
Renault will not continue development of high-level autonomous functions for passenger cars, switching focus instead to offering self-driving public transport solutions.
It says it already offers “top-level driving assistance on most of its models” but further development in this area – for passenger cars specifically – is “unlikely for the time being, given current regulations, customer expectations and the cost of the complex technology involved”.
Renault says that in the case of private-use passenger cars, Level 2 or 2+ autonomous features like adaptive cruise control, overtake assist and lane-keep assist help to “make its vehicles safe and pleasant to drive with confidence”.
But there is a “significant technological complexity gap”, Renault says, between these sorts of functions and those that fall under Level 3 categorisation, wherein “the vehicle must be able to operate safely in complex environments with limited driver supervision”.
“At this stage, the induced cost to be borne by customers, in relation to the driving benefits, would make demand insufficient or even anecdotal.”
“Innovation only makes sense if it is shared, economically accessible and genuinely useful to as many people as possible”, Renault said.
In light of that, the company is prioritising the development of high-level autonomous functions for shared public transport solutions, with plans to ultimately offer a ‘robotised electric minibus’ based on the new Renault Master van.
The move away from autonomous cars comes roughly seven years after Renault revealed the radical Symbioz concept as a showcase of its vision for what a Level 4-capable private car would look like in 2030 – complete with a retracting steering wheel and a VR headset for entertainment on the move.
The firm says its new generation of self-driving minibus will be able to operate “24/7 in complete safety”, providing a “zero-emission alternative or an efficient complement to existing solutions” like trains, trams and conventional buses.
The company acknowledges that the integration of advanced autonomy would make such vehicles more expensive to develop and build than their manually operated counterparts, but says these could be offset by not needing a paid driver. Rather, an entire fleet of vehicles could be supervised remotely by a much smaller workforce.
Cementing this new ambition, Renault Group has partnered with Sino-American technology company WeRide (in which it has already invested through the Alliance’s capital venture arm), to trial Level 4-capable autonomous shuttles on public roads.
WeRide has some 700 autonomous vehicles in operation globally, clocking up a combined 17 million miles in operation.
The two firms will operate an “experimental” shuttle service using WeRide’s Robobus people mover at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris beginning later this month.
Renault Group’s chief technology officer Gilles Le Borgne said the move is a significant step in the company’s plans to bring self-driving vehicles to production: “Renault Group is moving forward to implement its autonomous vehicle strategy.
“As a result, thanks to our experiments and our partners, the best in their fields, we will be in a position, well before the end of this decade, to propose a highly relevant range of autonomous, low-carbon miniBuses to meet the growing needs of the regions.”
Renault’s perception that high-level autonomy does not currently suit the mass-market private car tallies with that of Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer, who told Autocar last week: “The absolute focus points for volume brands are hands-off highway [assist] and parking.
“The hands-off complex driving situations in the middle of London or Beijing are a different story; the expectation of customers to have that – and not pay €25,000 extra for a driving stack – is very limited.”
