Lucid shares jumped after the electric vehicle maker reached a partnership with Bolt to deploy at least 25,000 autonomous vehicles in major European cities. According to Sina Finance, the deal marks Lucid's first expansion of its robotaxi business outside the United States.
Under the agreement, Bolt will build its autonomous ride-hailing network on Lucid's upcoming midsize vehicle platform. The vehicles will use Nvidia's Hyperion autonomous driving architecture and meet SAE Level 4 standards.
Lucid shares rose 10% in early trading, though the stock was still down more than 60% for the year. Lucid CEO Silvio Napolitano said shared autonomous mobility gives the company an opportunity to extend its technology beyond consumer passenger cars.
Bolt founder and CEO Markus Villig said Europe needs a complete system of data, software, vehicles, and operations for autonomous driving. He added that Bolt's Bolt Autonomous Solutions unit will own and operate the fleet and aims to reach 100,000 autonomous vehicles on the platform by 2035.