Russian company Yandex will have self-driving car test rides at 2020 Detroit Auto Show
Yandex will provide the trial rides this summer, but it's staying in the US for more testing.
The 2020 North American International Auto Show, often called the Detroit Auto Show , is in for some major changes next year. Among them, visitors should know there will be self-driving cars available for test rides, but from an unlikely company.
Yandex, a Russian technology and internet firm, told Reuters Wednesday that it will bring 10 driverless cars to the city's business center. They'll be available for rides to the Detroit Auto Show, and after the show concludes in June, they'll stick around for further testing.
The cars will be built in partnership with Hyundai Mobis, which Yandex joined forces with this past March to develop Level 4 and Level 5 self-driving car technology. It's unclear what form the cars will take, but the companies revealed the latest self-driving car prototype based on a 2020 Hyundai Sonata earlier this year. In the future, both companies wanted to build off-the-shelf autonomous driving kits for automakers and other companies to purchase and install in their own vehicles.
The Detroit tests mark a big step for Yandex, which only recently arrived in the US. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show , the company had its self-driving car on display. Most of its testing has occurred in Russia where people can ride in a self-driving taxi in designated test zones.
Major players continue to test self-driving technology all around the world, and companies have made billions of investments. So far, however, no one has emerged as close to unleashing a truly self-driving car.
As if autonomous cars at the show aren't enough, the 2020 Detroit Auto Show will be held in June instead of January in hopes of revitalizing the event. Outdoor displays and more interactive displays are planned to move some of the action out of the exhibition halls. The revamped NAIAS kicks off June 7, and the public days open on June 13.
