Without boast or parade, NAVYA has been rolling out some of the most advanced passenger shuttles in the world at a reliable clip of one per month now in Saline. [1]
These are vehicles that have been developed to safely, reliably operate without drivers. That means completing predetermined routes along existing roadways and open lots without need of any modification to those grounds. The promise of a future where traffic congestion in densely developed shopping and residential areas is significantly reduced, along with much in the way of provisions for places to park cars. Quietly running on electricity. [2,3,4]
At the same time it’s reasonable to ask, How real is all of this? How immanent? And, candidly, where do United States operations — that is, Saline operations — fit into plans for such a future, through a company based on France? [5]
This past Wednesday, NAVYA opened the doors to its place on the east end of town and effectively said, Come see for yourself. We were among those who took them up on their offer. We were among a dozen or so member of the press, representatives of area tech initiatives, and dignitaries from the City of Saline. Onsite presentations, followed by a facility tour and rides in one of the completed shuttles assembled in Saline spanned about two hours. [6]
NAVYA CEO Christophe Sapet served as lead host. There are two product lines, its “Autonom Shuttle” having been commercially deployed and the subject of local interests. They sell for just under a quarter-million dollars apiece and enjoy a healthy margin at that price point. NAVYA is unique as maker of both the vehicle structure and the electronics that sense, run, and facilitate communication with the vehicle. The company is further structured such that approximately two-thirds of its work will focus on manufacturing, the balance on maintenance, service, and repair and upgrades. [7]
He went on to detail recently announced partnerships with Charlatte Manutention, and AXA — a global insurance and asset management concern. Accident liability stood out as one of the hotter topics at The Intelligent Transporation Society of America conference in Detroit last summer. [8,9,10]
Omar Siada, US Plant Manager for NAVYA, then led the group tour through a station-by-station look at actual vehicle assembly out in the shop. Shuttles are built on a single line consisting of discrete work functions. Once work at each is completed, all units in the queue advance one step, and a new frame is brought in to the start. Two stations at the end focus on quality assurance.
Mr Siada noted that the main floor was setup to accommodate two such lines. He then led interested parties past a large separating wall to show space where the entire arrangement just shown could be doubled yet again as part of a future expansion. He also said that he is looking right now to identify talent for a significant uptick to come in hiring. [11]
Two additional things that were not on the script should be noted.
The outstanding question about ongoing NAVYA prospects in the United States can be no more than speculative at best. That’s the nature of business. At the same time, autonomous vehicles only exist within their dependent part of the smart space, and there, the word “collaborate” is used far more often than the word “compete.” [12,13]
Stepping back to watch for natural interactions between members at all levels of the NAVYA team here and those who had come on behalf of the City of Saline, the mayor, business ambassador, and city manager, it was evident that an open, comfortable, and well established relationship between enterprise and municipality exists. Having covered smart vehicles and NAVYA for some time now, that is what Saline Journal came to assess here. And that foundation does, indeed, appear to be in place.
The second thing ties to the orchestrated demonstration that made NAVYA a stand-out marketer at the WCX18: SAE World Congress Experience. If someone unexpectedly stepped out in front of their shuttle during its moving route, would it propertly read that situation and safely stop?
With vocal encouragement from Mayor Marl, Saline Journal proved that it would.
References
- NAVYA (home page).
- “NAVYA Premiered Its Self-Driving Shuttle at NAIAS Earlier This Year” Dell Deaton (February 5, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Autonomous Vehicles Promise to Solve Downtown Parking Problems” Dell Deaton (March 19, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Ready or Not, Autonomous Vehicles Rolled Further Ahead This Week Toward Inevitability with Mobility for All” Dell Deaton (May 31, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “NAVYA in the US : First presentation of the US NAVYA Team (Saline, MI)!” NAVYA (April 9, 2018) YouTube.
- “Self Driving Shuttles” Jeff Gilbert (October 17, 2018) WWJ Newsradio 950.
- “Autonom Shuttle” NAVYA.
- “NAVYA and Charlatte Manutention joining forces to develop and market autonomous industrial vehicles” (October 1, 2018) NAVYA.
- “NAVYA and AXA launch a partnership to develop insurance solutions tailored to autonomous vehicles” (October 3, 2018) NAVYA.
- “Michigan Governor Took Center Stage in Detroit This Month To Detail Mobility Partnerships Already In Motion” Dell Deaton (June 21, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Saline Area Job Fair Yesterday Continues To Serve Three Vital Constituencies: Believe It Or Not, You’re One Of Them” Dell Deaton (October 17, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “It’s Important to Understand What Being a ‘Smart City’ Means to Saline, Part 1” Dell Deaton (April 12, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Ann Arbor SPARK Event Truly Showed Attendees The Bigger Potential Of American Center For Mobility At Willow Run” Dell Deaton (July 10, 2018) Saline Journal.
- “Trust is the Biggest Obstacle to a Mobility Revolution; Established Players Are Directly Asking You for It, Now” Dell Deaton (June 7, 2018) Saline Journal.
