Mercedes Robo-Taxi Coming Within A Few Months

The taxi of the future could become a tad more luxurious as Daimler and Bosch are gearing up to launch their first “robo-taxis.”

In an interview with Automobilwoche, Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner said “There will be test vehicles on the streets in the coming months.” Little is known about the vehicles but Reuters reports Daimler’s Wilko Stark said “The big difference to other competitors is that we are conceptualizing our vehicle as a robo-taxi right from the beginning and not as a technology-kit mounted on a serial vehicle.”

This suggests the robo-taxi will be a purpose-built model instead of being based on a pre-existing product. Waymo bases their autonomous taxi on the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid but Stark suggested using existing models is a “makeshift solution” and something that Daimler won’t do.

While little is known about the taxis, Mercedes research and development boss, Ola Källenius, previously suggested the taxis could come equipped with cameras, lidar and radar sensors as well as redundant steering and braking systems. The extra equipment will drive up costs and Källenius stated the technology will be “phenomenally expensive” and likely cost “tens of thousands of dollars.”

Due to the high costs, Mercedes believes the technology makes sense for taxis as fleet owners can offset the price by not having to pay drivers.

Of course, the company is also working to mainstream models with autonomous driving technology. A Level 3 system is expected to debut on the S-Class in 2020 and Mercedes has plans for Level 4 and 5 systems further down the road.