Nissan-Renault to Enter Driverless Ride-Hailing Service

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. NSANY and French automaker Renault SA plan to launch driverless ride-hailing and ride-sharing services in the near future, according to Reuters. The Nissan-Renault alliance is making this effort to avoid competition from start-up companies. In fact, these two auto giants are looking beyond mere car manufacturing and sale, and are also trying to adjust in the new transformed situation.

Traditional automakers are now competing with technology firms such as Alphabet Inc. GOOG and Uber Technologies Inc in the rapidly expanding ‘pay-per-ride' market which is posing threat to the demand for car ownership. To take on the challenges, auto manufacturers are banking the automated driving functions expertise for mass-market cars.

The alliance believes that this is indeed a big opportunity in automation, electric vehicles and ride-sharing and hailing and expects to introduce self-driving services within 10 years.

With this move, Nissan and Renault are joining a small group of car makers, who are also aiming at joining the ride-hailing market. Other companies such as BMW AG of Germany are also testing vehicles for use in ride-hailing services. Uber is making efforts to develop self-driving technology.

Some important companies in the auto space include Toyota Motor Corp Ltd. TM and Volkswagen AG VLKAY.

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