Stellantis has announced an ambitious collaboration with NVIDIA, Uber, and Foxconn to develop and deploy driverless robotaxis worldwide, marking a significant milestone in the automotive giant’s autonomous vehicle strategy. The partnership, unveiled Monday in Amsterdam, combines vehicle manufacturing prowess, artificial intelligence computing power, ride hailing operations, and electronics integration to create what executives describe as a new class of purpose built autonomous fleets.
The collaboration builds on Stellantis’ recently announced agreement with Pony.ai to test autonomous vehicles in Europe, positioning the automaker as a major player in the transition toward driverless transportation. Together, these initiatives reflect Stellantis’ global approach to autonomous mobility, leveraging partnerships with leading technology and mobility companies rather than developing capabilities entirely in house.
Uber plans to deploy Stellantis autonomous vehicles starting in 2027, targeting 100,000 vehicles, with initial operations beginning in the United States and approximately 5,000 units in the first phase. Pilot programs and testing are expected to ramp up over the coming years, with start of production targeted for 2028. That timeline reflects both the technical complexity of achieving reliable Level 4 autonomy and the regulatory hurdles that must be cleared before driverless vehicles can operate commercially.
The partnership brings together complementary strengths across the automotive and technology sectors. Stellantis contributes global vehicle engineering and manufacturing expertise, NVIDIA provides autonomous driving software and AI computing, Foxconn delivers electronics and system integration capabilities, while Uber brings leadership in ride hailing operations. Each partner has carved out specific responsibilities within the collaboration framework.
Stellantis will design, engineer, and manufacture autonomous vehicles based on its light commercial vehicles and STLA Small AV Ready Platforms, integrating NVIDIA DRIVE AV software to enable Level 4 driverless capabilities. These platforms are specifically engineered to support Level 4 capabilities through technology upgrades that efficiently integrate system redundancies, advanced sensor suites, and high performance computing into flexible, scalable architecture.
NVIDIA will provide its NVIDIA DRIVE AV software, including L4 Parking and L4 Driving capabilities based on the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Hyperion 10 architecture. The system includes the safety certified NVIDIA DriveOS operating system and full stack NVIDIA DRIVE AV software purpose built for Level 4 autonomy. This represents NVIDIA’s most advanced autonomous driving platform, designed to make any vehicle Level 4 ready.
Foxconn will partner with Stellantis on hardware and systems integration to ensure seamless vehicle architecture. As the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, Foxconn brings expertise in high performance computing, sensor integration, and electronic control systems. Level 4 robotaxis require sophisticated technology stacks including powerful computing, smart power management, reliable connectivity, and effective thermal control, areas where Foxconn’s manufacturing capabilities prove crucial.
Uber will operate the robotaxi services, expanding its fleet with Stellantis built vehicles integrating NVIDIA DRIVE AV software. The ride hailing giant’s global network provides the operational infrastructure needed to deploy autonomous vehicles at scale, handling everything from customer bookings to vehicle maintenance coordination.
Antonio Filosa, CEO of Stellantis, framed the initiative as opening doors to more affordable transportation choices for customers. By partnering with leaders in AI, electronics, and mobility services, Stellantis aims to create a scalable solution delivering smarter, safer, and more efficient mobility for everyone. That emphasis on affordability matters significantly, as robotaxi economics depend heavily on eliminating driver costs while maintaining vehicle utilization rates.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, characterized NVIDIA as the backbone of the AI era, noting the company is now fully harnessing that innovation to unleash Level 4 autonomy at enormous scale. Stellantis ranks among the first automakers to integrate NVIDIA’s technology for deployment on Uber’s platform, potentially giving the partnership first mover advantages in key markets.
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, described Level 4 autonomy as more than just an automotive milestone; it’s a leap in AI capability. The vehicle becomes a robot that sees, perceives, plans, and drives with what he calls superhuman precision. By combining Stellantis’ global scale with NVIDIA DRIVE and Foxconn’s system integration, they’re creating what Huang believes will make transportation safer, more accessible, and more affordable for everyone.
Young Liu, Chairman of Foxconn, emphasized that autonomous mobility represents a strategic priority within Foxconn’s electric vehicle program. The partnerships and combined strengths across NVIDIA, Stellantis, and Uber accelerate deployment of Level 4 robotaxi technology, with Foxconn delivering high performance computing and sensor integration to enable global rollout.
The non binding Memorandum of Understanding establishes the framework for future agreements covering technology development, licensing, production, and vehicle procurement. Each company retains flexibility to pursue additional collaborations in the autonomous driving space. That flexibility acknowledges the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle landscape, where strategic options must remain open as technology and markets develop.
Stellantis’ AV Ready Platforms are engineered to support Level 4 capabilities through technology upgrades that efficiently integrate all key components, including system redundancies, advanced sensor suites, and high performance computing, into a flexible and scalable architecture. The result is described as one of the most competitive platforms in the industry, optimized for safety, reliability, and total cost of ownership for service operators.
That focus on total cost of ownership reflects economic realities of the robotaxi business model. Operating autonomous vehicles profitably requires balancing upfront vehicle and technology costs against operational savings from eliminating drivers. The partnership aims to create vehicles purpose built for this use case rather than adapting consumer vehicles for commercial deployment.
Level 4 autonomy means vehicles can drive themselves under certain conditions without human intervention, though they’re not fully autonomous in all situations. This distinguishes Level 4 from Level 5 autonomy, which would enable driverless operation anywhere, anytime. Most experts believe Level 4 represents the practical near term frontier for commercial deployment, as it allows operators to focus on geographically defined operating areas where autonomous systems work reliably.
Uber will begin scaling its global autonomous fleet starting in 2027, supported by a joint AI data factory built on the NVIDIA Cosmos platform. That data factory will be crucial for training autonomous driving systems, as machine learning models require enormous amounts of real world driving data to achieve the reliability needed for commercial deployment.
The partnership announcement echoes Jensen Huang’s presentation at the GTC conference in Washington, where he unveiled Hyperion, NVIDIA’s new software and hardware platform dedicated to autonomous vehicles. Huang had mentioned constructing a global network of robotaxis in collaboration with Uber, now reinforced by Stellantis and Foxconn’s participation.
The collaboration positions Stellantis differently from competitors pursuing autonomous vehicle development primarily through internal programs or single technology partnerships. By assembling a coalition that spans vehicle manufacturing, AI software, electronics integration, and ride hailing operations, Stellantis is betting that ecosystem approaches will prove more effective than vertical integration.
This strategy reflects broader automotive industry trends. Traditional automakers increasingly recognize they can’t match technology companies’ AI and software capabilities while simultaneously maintaining manufacturing excellence. Partnerships allow each player to focus on core competencies while sharing risks and rewards of uncertain but potentially enormous autonomous vehicle markets.
However, success remains far from guaranteed. Multiple companies have invested billions in autonomous vehicle development over the past decade with limited commercial deployment to show for it. Technical challenges around edge cases, those unusual situations autonomous systems struggle to handle, continue proving more difficult than early optimists predicted. Regulatory frameworks for driverless vehicles remain incomplete in most markets. Public acceptance of robotaxis hasn’t been tested at scale.
The 2028 production target gives the partnership roughly three years to resolve these challenges while preparing manufacturing facilities, training AI systems on diverse driving conditions, and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. Whether that timeline proves realistic or optimistic will become clearer as pilot programs expand.
For Stellantis, this represents a significant strategic commitment to autonomous mobility. The company’s portfolio includes iconic brands like Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat, giving it global manufacturing scale and diverse vehicle platforms. Applying autonomous technology across this portfolio could eventually extend beyond robotaxis into commercial delivery, logistics, and personal vehicles.
The partnership also reflects how automotive value chains are being restructured. Where automakers once controlled most aspects of vehicle development and production, they’re increasingly becoming system integrators, combining their manufacturing and design capabilities with specialized technology from partners. NVIDIA’s role providing the AI brain for autonomous vehicles exemplifies this shift, as does Foxconn’s evolution from contract manufacturer to strategic partner in vehicle electronics.
For riders, the promised benefits include potentially lower fares through elimination of driver costs, improved safety from AI systems that don’t get tired or distracted, and increased mobility access for those unable to drive. But realizing these benefits depends on autonomous systems proving reliable enough that regulators and consumers trust them to operate without human backup.
The next several years will test whether this coalition can translate ambitious announcements into operational robotaxi services that work reliably, economically, and safely at scale across multiple cities and countries. The partnership brings together strong capabilities, but autonomous vehicle history suggests that transforming those capabilities into profitable businesses requires overcoming challenges that often prove more difficult than anticipated.
