Driverless car company Motional announced Tuesday that it will supply a test fleet of new Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric cars in Los Angeles, all outfitted with "robotaxi" technology.
The fleet would be the first of its kind in Southern California.
Motional plans to partner with ride-share app Lyft to jumpstart its robotaxi services in L.A. Extensive road mapping and testing are essential hurdles to that process.
TechCrunch reported Motional plans to deploy its first round of tests with a safety driver at the wheel in and around Santa Monica.
The Boston-based car company is a joint venture of Hyundai and the auto-parts maker Aptiv. The Ioniq 5 compact electric SUV model is expected to hit the U.S. market in fall 2021.