Next-Generation Driverless Delivery Vehicle announced by Faction and Arcimoto
Faction Technology, Inc. and Arcimoto, Inc., showcased a next-generation driverless delivery vehicle based on the Arcimoto Platform at the new Arcimoto RAMP manufacturing facility in Eugene, Oregon today.
Equipped with Faction’s DriveLink™ and TeleAssist™ technologies, the completely driverless Faction D1 combines autonomy with remote human teleoperation. The driverless vehicle system retains the Arcimoto FUV’s capabilities of a 75 mph top speed and just over 100 miles of range while transporting up to 500 pounds of cargo.
“Scalable driverless vehicle systems require engineering from the chassis up, and by leveraging the revolutionary Arcimoto Platform, we’re able to develop our driverless system much faster than using legacy vehicle designs,” said Faction CEO, Ain McKendrick. “The end result will be a rightsized, ultra-efficient driverless delivery vehicle that reduces pollution and drives down costs for local and last-mile delivery fleets.”
Targeting the average urban trip of five miles or less, Faction and Arcimoto have a shared belief that right-sizing driverless electric vehicles will provide a significant boost in efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and offer significant cost savings over existing transportation solutions.
Mark Frohnmayer, Founder and CEO at Arcimoto said: “We’ve been thrilled to work with the Faction team to support driverless development on the Arcimoto Platform. With a common mission of deploying ultra-efficient electric vehicles at scale, the commercial launch of the driverless Faction D1 will be a game-changer for last-mile logistics.”
The driverless Faction D1 features advanced sensors and safety systems, and has a configurable cargo compartment that can be adapted for specialized payloads in addition to general fleet-on-demand use. With a commercial service cost of less than $2 per mile for driverless deliveries, the vehicle is extremely cost-competitive for various delivery use cases.
Pilot customer trials are expected to begin in 2022. Interested fleet customers can contact Faction about access to pre-production vehicles and services now, and make reservations for production models beginning in 2023.
