BYD Co., Ltd. announced Tuesday its partnership with leading autonomous vehicle company Nuro to begin producing the company’s third-generation electric autonomous delivery vehicle. The partnership is expected to scale Nuro’s more affordable, eco-friendly, and convenient services to millions of people across the country, the company said.
“BYD will leverage the manufacturing capacity of our Lancaster plant by finishing assembly of globally sourced hardware components to support Nuro and bring more jobs to the community,” said Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD Co. Ltd. and President of BYD North America, “Together we will build this autonomous delivery vehicle, with the mutual goal of creating a safer environment on streets across the United States.”
The announcement follows Nuro’s $600 million Series D funding round which closed in Q4 2021 and was led by Tiger Global Management with participation from other investors.
Combining both partners’ advanced technology, Nuro’s third-generation autonomous delivery vehicle will feature greater payload and new safety technologies. With twice the cargo volume of Nuro’s current R2 model, the automotive production grade vehicle will also feature modular inserts to customize storage and new temperature-controlled compartments to keep goods warm or cool. Safety enhancements include an external airbag to further improve safety for pedestrians outside the vehicle, as well as a multi-modal sensing suite, including cameras, radars, lidar, and thermal cameras, creating a redundant 360-degree view of the world.
