Skip to main content

Navya plans to establish Asia-Pacific driverless shuttle base in Adelaide

French driverless shuttle company Navya and the South Australian State Government have agreed on plans to establish Navya’s Asia-Pacific manufacturing facility in Adelaide. Navya’s ARMA shuttles are electric, 100 per cent driverless and can carry up to 15 people. South Australia hosted the first demonstration of a driverless vehicle in Australia in 2015, while Adelaide hosted the inaugural International Driverless Cars Conference in November 2015.
September 21, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

French driverless shuttle company 8379 Navya and the South Australian State Government have agreed on plans to establish Navya’s Asia-Pacific manufacturing facility in Adelaide.

Navya’s ARMA shuttles are electric, 100 per cent driverless and can carry up to 15 people.

South Australia hosted the first demonstration of a driverless vehicle in Australia in 2015, while Adelaide hosted the inaugural International Driverless Cars Conference in November 2015. In early 2016, SA became the first Australian state to permit driverless vehicle testing on Australian roads. In November, Adelaide will host the second International Driverless Vehicle Summit.

It has been predicted that, by 2020 many known automobile manufacturers and new entrants will have driverless car models on the roads. A report by 4243 Intel forecasts the autonomous vehicle industry will be worth US$7 trillion by 2050, of which 47 per cent is expected to occur in the Asia-Pacific region.

State Premier Jay Weatherill said establishing a driverless car vehicle operation  in South Australia is the perfect bridge connecting the country’s past in traditional vehicle manufacturing and its future in advanced manufacturing in a clean, carbon neutral environment.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Keolis trials electric autonomous shuttle in Belgium
    September 11, 2018
    Keolis is trialling an electric autonomous shuttle to take riders to the caves of Han-sur-Lesse, a tourist attraction in Belgium. The study will assess the reactions of passengers travelling along a 500m route in normal traffic conditions to help improve the safety of the technology. The Navya shuttle can carry up to 15 passengers from the parking area to the caves. It features lidar sensors, a GPS real-time kinematic odometric system, vehicle-to-everything connection and cameras which allows it to dete
  • Singapore plans changes to transit system
    June 13, 2018
    Singapore has the third-highest population density in the world and the numbers are continuing to grow. The government knows that transit is vital: David Crawford investigates the city state’s Smart Nation strategy. Transport is the most important of the five domains identified as the pillars of Singapore's far-reaching Smart Nation strategy, launched in November 2014 by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong with the aim of reaching fulfilment by 2024. Roads account for 12% of the island republic's 719km2 land ar
  • Authorities switch on to all electric buses as costs tumble
    January 9, 2018
    Alan Dron looks at changes in bus propulsion as cities look to improve air quality and seek to reduce maintenance costs. Despite the ending of various incentives to adopt alternative fuels, the introduction of electric buses by US transit authorities is picking up speed as performance improves, costs drop and air quality considerations become increasingly significant. More US bus manufacturers are introducing zero-emission models and some recent contracts will see many more passengers getting their first
  • Autonomous vehicles – saviour and threat, says report
    November 1, 2016
    A new report from IDTechEx Research notes that autonomous vehicles need no pilot, not even one in reserve. Many truly autonomous vehicles are unmanned mobile robots prowling everywhere from the ocean depths to nuclear power stations, the upper atmosphere and outer space. They create billion dollar businesses such as aircraft and airships aloft for five to ten years on sunshine alone carrying out surveillance or beaming the internet to the 4.5 billion people who lack it. Independence of energy and electri