BYD will finish assembly of the hardware platform at its Lancaster plant in the United States using globally sourced components
BYD has partnered with autonomous vehicle company Nuro. Under the partnership agreement, BYD will begin producing the company’s third-generation electric autonomous delivery vehicle.
BYD is jointly working with Nuro on vehicle development, and is responsible for vehicle manufacturing and initial vehicle testing, and provides hardware like the Blade Battery, electric motors, electronic controls, and displays for human-machine interaction.
BYD will finish assembly of the hardware platform at its Lancaster plant in the United States using globally sourced components. Nuro will then complete the vehicle manufacturing process by installing and testing the autonomy systems that will make the platform capable of operation at the company’s new facilities in southern Nevada.
Nuro was founded in 2016 by Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson, former principal engineers of Google’s self-driving car team. Specializing in developing zero-occupant vehicles designed specifically for transporting goods and not passengers, Nuro has launched two generations of autonomous vehicles, introduced delivery service with industry leaders including Domino’s, Kroger, and 7-Eleven, and announced a multi-year partnership with FedEx.
Combining both partners’ advanced technology, Nuro’s third-generation autonomous delivery vehicle will feature greater payload and new safety technologies, the statement added.
The announcement follows Nuro’s $600 million Series D funding round which closed in Q4 2021 and was led by Tiger Global Management with participation from other investors.
Jiajun Zhu, Nuro co-founder and CEO, said, “We look forward to transforming the hardware components of BYD’s globally sourced electric vehicle platform into innovative autonomous vehicles capable of operating on public roads at our new facility here in America. Through our partnership with BYD, we plan to produce autonomous vehicles at scale that can improve road safety, air quality, and overall access to goods.”
