INDUSTRY NEWS
Partnership to scale robotaxis globally
Stellantis, Wayve and Uber have entered a partnership to jointly explore the development and deployment of Level 4( driverless) robotaxis at a global scale.
The collaboration brings together Stellantis’ L4-Ready Platforms™, Wayve’ s AI driving technology and Uber’ s global marketplace to power a new generation of fully autonomous vehicles. It also builds on the companies’ existing strategic relationships, including Stellantis and Wayve’ s recent L2 ++ agreement, and Wayve and Uber’ s partnership to deploy autonomous rides in London, Tokyo and ten other cities around the world starting this year.
The new initiative will combine the strengths needed to commercialise autonomy: vehicles, technology and platform:
■ Vehicles & integration: Stellantis will design, engineer and manufacture at scale vehicles built on advanced L4-Ready Platforms™ that have embedded sensor suites and are engineered“ with the operational requirements, the safety and redundancy required for high-utilisation driverless operations.”
The STLA-L4-Ready-Platform.
■ AI technology: Wayve’ s AI driving software enables the vehicles to understand and navigate complex realworld environments fully autonomously. Built with Wayve’ s end-to-end AI driving approach, the technology is designed to adapt across different regions and driving conditions without relying on city-by-city mapping or re-engineering, enabling( it said) faster and more costeffective expansion.
■ Mobility platform: Uber will deploy these autonomous vehicles on its global mobility network, connecting riders to autonomous trips through the Uber app and helping to scale operations across markets.
“ This collaboration brings us closer to delivering smarter, safer and more efficient mobility for our customers,” said Ned Curic, Chief Engineering and Technology Officer, Stellantis.
As part of this collaboration, the companies plan to work together on vehicle integration, testing, validation and deployment with the goal of bringing safe, reliable and scalable autonomous mobility services to cities across Europe, North America and beyond.
“ The strategic relationship represents a significant step towards commercial robotaxi services at scale and reinforces the ecosystem approach needed to democratise AV technology and bring it to millions of vehicles and riders around the world,” commented Stellantis.
The non-binding Memorandum of Understanding( MoU) establishes the framework for future agreements covering technology development, licensing, production and vehicle procurement. Each company retains the flexibility to pursue additional collaborations in the autonomous driving space. n
New rules for European automotive sector
The End-of-Life Vehicles( ELV) Regulation has now come into force in the EU, revising the rules that govern the design, production, collection and end-of-life treatment of vehicles. It aims to strengthen circularity in the automotive sector by improving resource efficiency, increasing the recovery and reuse of valuable materials, and enhancing the environmental performance of vehicles throughout their lifecycle.
“ They will also help to secure a more stable supply of secondary raw materials, reducing Europe’ s dependence on imported virgin resources and supporting a more resilient industrial base. The new rules encourage vehicle design that makes dismantling, reuse, recycling and recovery easier, while improving the information available on the removal and replacement of components during use and at the end of a vehicle’ s life. This will help the automotive and recycling industries recover higher-quality components and materials more efficiently,” explained the EU Commission on 12 August 2026.
The Regulation also establishes requirements concerning the use of recycled materials in new vehicles. It sets mandatory
targets for recycled plastic content of 15 % from 2032 and 25 % from 2036. In addition, the Commission will establish recycled content targets for steel and aluminium, which should apply from 2033.
“ Further measures strengthen the collection and traceability of vehicles reaching the end of their life. Reinforced traceability requirements, stronger enforcement and clearer criteria that distinguish used vehicles from end-of-life vehicles will improve implementation across Member States,” added the EU Commission.
New measures have also been introduced
Image: Shutterstock. com. to foster a higher recovery of critical raw materials from end-of-life vehicles( especially aluminium, copper and rare earth elements) to facilitate their reuse and recycling in the EU. The Regulation also provides that from mid-2031, that only roadworthy vehicles may be exported outside the EU, helping to protect the environment and prevent end-of-life vehicles from being exported as second-hand vehicles. It strengthens Extended Producer Responsibility( EPR), ensuring that producers contribute to the costs of collecting and treating end-of-life vehicles.
“ By making producers responsible for the end-of-life phase of the vehicles they place on the market, the framework creates incentives for more sustainable vehicle design and helps ensure that high-quality collection, dismantling and recycling systems are properly financed. It also strengthens cooperation between producers and waste management operators and extends the framework to additional vehicle categories including lorries, buses and motorcycles,” concluded the EU Commission. n
https:// environment. ec. europa. eu /
ISMR September 2026 | ismr. net | 13