This partnership, named the « Greater Paris Autonomous Driving Living Lab », brings together the Métropole du Grand Paris, representing Paris and its 129 surrounding municipalities, Stellantis' expertise in L4-Ready™ platforms and automotive engineering, and Bolt in mobility and European-wide deployment. The goal is to study the integration of autonomous mobility technologies into European cities and propose a scalable model. The project will assess how autonomous vehicles can complement existing public and private transport offerings, particularly for first and last-mile journeys, access to employment hubs, off-peak travel, and service for major events.
Under the European Commission's Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities (ADACities) initiative, the project aims to provide a real-world experimentation framework to evaluate the operational, societal, and regulatory conditions necessary for implementing autonomous mobility services in dense urban environments. The findings from this experiment will inform public decision-making and support the future development of autonomous mobility solutions in Europe.
Initial deployments are planned in a maximum of five municipalities in the northwest of Grand Paris. This first phase will assess operational performance, safety, integration with public transport networks, and the economic, social, and environmental effects. A second phase will evaluate the conditions for a potential larger-scale deployment, aiming for commercial operation by 2030, subject to necessary authorizations.
With 7.2 million inhabitants, the Métropole du Grand Paris has one of Europe's most extensive and complex transport networks. While major investments like the Grand Paris Express are strengthening public transport links, challenges remain. The experiment will assess how autonomous vehicles can complement the existing offering and help meet these needs, informing public decision-makers about the benefits, limitations, and deployment conditions of autonomous mobility in a dense urban environment.
The project leverages the expertise of three organizations: the Métropole du Grand Paris will coordinate the project with local authorities, provide the real-world experimentation framework, and identify relevant use cases. Bolt will lead service integration and deployment planning, combining its autonomous driving technology, vehicles, and mobility platform. Stellantis will supply vehicles based on its L4-Ready Platforms™ and its design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities.
Pony.ai is identified as a potential provider of autonomous driving technology, drawing on its international experience in complex urban environments. The proposed solution is based on the NVIDIA Hyperion platform and Halos safety system. The three partners will work with participating municipalities and competent authorities to identify suitable routes, obtain necessary permits, and prepare for deployment. All services will comply with applicable safety, regulatory, and data protection requirements.
As part of its role in the project's first phase, the Métropole du Grand Paris will oversee an evaluation framework to inform public decision-making. This will cover operational safety, service quality and user acceptance, impacts on mobility and integration with public transport, social and environmental effects, and the economic and operational conditions for future deployment. Aggregated operational data will assess service performance and integration into the metropolitan mobility ecosystem, fully respecting data protection requirements.
