Fiat Chrysler will launch an unmanned taxi service by mid-2020

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced that it plans to launch unmanned taxis along the roads of major Chinese cities with AutoX startup.

AutoX's AI system will be installed on Chrysler Pacificas vehicles. The startup adapted local driving styles for navigation in complex and dynamic urban environments.

According to the partners, robotaxi services could be launched in cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai as early as the first half of 2020.

In recent years, Fiat Chrysler  has noticeably lagged behind its main competitors intechnology of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. However, a partnership with Waymo, Foxconn, and AutoX should make a difference and help the automaker, at least narrow the gap.

However, FCA will face seriouscompetition in the Chinese market, where since 2017, authorities have allowed open testing of unmanned vehicles on public roads and companies such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent are actively developing their own platforms.

Autonomous driving systems are improving rapidly, and recently a self-driving truck drove 4,500 km on various types of roads for the first time without incident.

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