• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Advertise
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Features list
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsor an article
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Subscribe to Newsletter

Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Editorial Sections A-Z
    • Agriculture
    • Aircraft
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Automation
    • Autonomous vehicles
    • Business
    • Computing
    • Construction
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Drones
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Engineering
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Humanoids
    • Industrial robots
    • Industry
    • Infrastructure
    • Investments
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Marine
    • Material handling
    • Materials
    • Mining
    • Promoted
    • Research
    • Robotics
    • Science
    • Sensors
    • Service robots
    • Software
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Transportation
    • Warehouse robots
    • Wearables
  • Press releases
  • Events

‘Robotaxis will be disruptive to conventional taxis and ride-hailing, but not car ownership’, says new report

November 2, 2021 by David Edwards

Robotaxis remain one of the most pursued applications for autonomous vehicle technologies today, with many developers envisioning an end to – or at least a significant reduction in – car ownership.

Developers of autonomous vehicles, specifically those focused on Level-4 self-driving vehicles, often focus on mobility services as the first application.

Not only is there a demonstrated market for taxis and ride-hailing, but it’s a market where the high costs of labor create high prices, making it a ripe opportunity for autonomous vehicle deployment.

It is also a good technology fit as they can operate in geo-fenced areas, according to new data from Lux Research, a leading provider of tech-enabled research and innovation advisory services.

Lux’s new report, The Economics of Robotaxis, analyzes the economics of fleet ownership of autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing purposes, finding costs to use these services will likely exceed personal car ownership but be cheaper than conventional taxi or ride-hailing services.

Christopher Robinson, research director at Lux Research and lead author of the report, says: “Robotaxis are currently in the pilot stage, with several operating today.

“Robotaxi operations require SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles capable of operating without a backup driver but constrained to specific operating conditions, such as geography or weather conditions.

“While many early operations feature safety drivers ready to take control of the vehicle at any time, 2020 saw the advent of the first truly driverless robotaxi operations, with reliance on a combination of teleoperators and trailing safety drivers in other vehicles.”

It is clear the required technologies to enable robotaxi services exist today, but timelines for commercializing autonomous vehicles have continuously slipped, and autonomous driving technology remains unavailable for consumers today.

While further testing and refinement are required, Lux believes geofenced Level 4 autonomous vehicles will be technically mature enough to move beyond pilot testing in the next decade.

However, it is equally – arguably more – important to understand the impact of these vehicles when they are commercialized.

Lux’s analysis focused on the costs required to operate a robotaxi service, specifically vehicle cost, charging costs, and operational costs.

The analysis includes taxi data, such as total miles driven per year, from the US, the UK, and China to understand how these results vary globally.

Lux found that reducing operating costs is a more important avenue to reducing robotaxi costs today than technology-specific cost reductions like cheaper battery-powered electric vehicles and sensors suites.

While robotaxi operations will be disruptive to incumbent ride-hailing companies due to the significantly more favorable economics, ultimately, robotaxis will not meaningfully displace car ownership due to higher costs and the social status ascribed to such ownership.

However, automakers should not necessarily ignore the opportunity completely. Robotaxi operators still need to use automobiles, and no major operators have designed and built their own vehicles.

Furthermore, automakers and their suppliers can and should consider using robotaxi deployments for development purposes. Using robotaxi operations to advance technical capabilities while understanding how consumers interact with them is a promising strategy.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket

Related stories you might also like…

Filed Under: Autonomous vehicles, Features Tagged With: autonomous, car, costs, economics, level, lux, operating, operations, ownership, report, required, ride-hailing, robotaxi, robotaxis, services, today, vehicle, vehicles

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

Latest articles

  • Sunrise Robotics emerges from stealth with $8.5 million funding
  • Industrial vehicle automation specialist ASI opens new office in Utah
  • Premier Automation launches innovation hub with support from Pennsylvania
  • Opinion: AI’s ‘real value is in eliminating everyday inefficiencies’
  • MES & Industry 4.0 Summit kicks off in Porto with global manufacturing leaders
  • Agentic AI startup Landbase raises $30 million in Series A funding
  • Dürr and GROB showcase new concept factory for battery cell production
  • Drone delivery: Navigating the path from high-flying hype to last-mile reality
  • The autonomous future of the warehouse: How AMRs are redefining logistics
  • Terradepth and EIVA partner to automate subsea data collection and cloud delivery

Secondary Sidebar

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT