EUGENE, Ore. – Arcimoto, makers of rightsized, enjoyable, ultra-efficient electric vehicles, announced a partnership with Faction Technology, Inc. and GoCar Tours, Inc. to develop up to 310 driverless electric vehicles, powered by Faction’s DriveLink® and TeleAssist® technologies and GoCar’s patented GoCar Network technology, which allows users to explore select cities on at their own pace.
The partnership calls for an initial 20-vehicle pilot program to begin at GoCar Tours Las Vegas in 2023. Upon completing the pilot, GoCar will begin a phased deployment of up to an additional 290 vehicles to GoCar locations in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and San Diego, Calif., and later in Barcelona, Spain.
“This is a confluence of three cutting-edge technologies: the rightsized Arcimoto electric vehicle architecture, Faction’s driverless technology, and GoCar’s award-winning GPS-guided tours,” said Jesse Fittipaldi, Arcimoto Interim CEO. “Building on GoCar’s proven business model, we believe this is a perfect fit for the sustainable tourism industry today, and will be a key step in our plans to deploy driverless FUVs for everyday transportation in the future.”
The cure for the common tour, GoCar’s storytelling cars allows users to explore the city on their own schedule at their own pace. The GoCar mobile tour guide, the world’s first GPS-guided tour, gives directions, cracks jokes, recommends restaurants, and tells the legendary stories that bring each city to life.
“This is an incredible innovation on so many levels, dramatically improving our customer rental experience while driving down the cost of fleet operations,” said Nathan Withrington, Founder of GoCar Tours. “I love that a customer will be able to reserve a GoCar, it will driverlessly arrive at their location, they get in and take the controls, getting the same award-winning GoCar experience, stopping wherever they like when they like. And then, when they head back to their hotels, the Arcimoto will driverlessly return to GoCar. It’s magic.”
Faction’s DriveLink® and TeleAssist® technologies will enable GoCar EVs to combine autonomy with remote human teleoperation. Faction’s technology architecture is designed with driverless systems in mind, which allows it to incorporate new technology radically faster than legacy vehicle platforms. It partners with innovative companies to develop sophisticated teleoperation abilities, precise vehicle positioning, hazard recognition, and vehicle design to accommodate the 90 percent of urban trips that consist of one passenger traveling a few miles.
“This is an exciting use case for Faction’s driverless technology, bringing customers a world-class tourism and driving experience right to their hotels,” said Faction CEO, Ain McKendrick. “Exploring a new city at your own pace with your friends in a fleet of FUVs is far more enticing than any oversized, gas-powered tour bus will ever be, with the added convenience that customers won’t have to wait in lines to pick up or return the vehicle. That’s where Faction has you covered.”
