Self-driving startup Pony.ai announced an agreement with Bosch, a global supplier of technology and services, to explore the future of automotive maintenance and repair for autonomous fleets.
One of many opportunities in the autonomous driving space is the continuous operation of a fleet, and the reduction of downtime. Pony.ai and Bosch’s Automotive Aftermarket division in North America plan to develop and pilot innovative fleet maintenance solutions to enable the efficient and scalable operation of future commercial autonomous fleets.
Bosch has a long-standing reputation in vehicle maintenance and operates the Bosch Car Service network which will turn one hundred years in 2021. The Bosch Car Service network is the oldest and largest automotive repair and maintenance network with over 20,000 locations across the world.
“High operational efficiency and fleet uptime is crucial to unlock the full economic potential of large-scale robotaxi fleets,” said Matthias Tan, director of product and partnerships at Pony.ai. “Autonomous vehicles are incredibly complex and continuously evolving systems which need to be maintained to the highest standards possible. We needed a partner who was capable of delivering high quality fleet maintenance services and wanted to seize the opportunity for joint innovation in fleet management solutions for autonomous vehicles.”
With over 1,000 locations in North America, the Bosch Car Service network provides a unique footprint for national and local fleet operators. Famous for its quality and sophistication, the network of independent operators acts on the highest industry standards and is well known for having members that lead and set industry maintenance benchmarks on luxury, high performance and new technology vehicles across the whole US.
“Bosch and Pony.ai immediately found a great overlap in our strategies, and opportunities where we can learn from each other,” said Jean-Philippe “JP” Persico, director of strategy, innovation and workshop business at Bosch. “Bosch has the unique capability as a network to offer state-of-the-art software solutions, harmonized across our network, together with highly sophisticated and trained technicians.”
An industry dominated by a fragmented software landscape and high labour shortage, the automotive maintenance market has a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.36 percent outgrowing the overall aftermarket industry CAGR of 4 percent.
This article courtesy of Russell Thrall III, publisher CollisionWeek. Check out their website at: www.collisionweek.com.