Californian firm to tackle similar market as Toyota with its e-Palette
The US rush to join the automated electric delivery vehicle market continues unabated with new entity Udelv saying it will join the party in a matter of weeks.
At a time when automotive megapower Toyota is crowing about its automated e-Palette Concept Vehicle, which was another delivery vehicle unveiling at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Udelv aims to show minnows can play in this space too.
The company boasts former Tesla and Apple engineering team member Akshat Patel as its chief technology officer and is led by CEO Daniel Laury and the vehicles will undergo public-road in the coming weeks.
“McKinsey estimates that 80 per cent of all package deliveries will be autonomous in the next decade,” Laury says.
“I am very proud that Udelv will make history as the very first custom-made, public-road autonomous delivery vehicle. Our mission is to improve people’s lives. We will be releasing a continuous stream of innovations to fulfil that promise.”
The delivery vehicle aims to have an operating radius of 25-30km initially.
Unsurprisingly, Toyota’s e-Palette has garnered mainstream headlines in the US, while Udelv has made do with transport and logistics press attention.
But they will contest a similar space, though Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) is an altogether more complex concept.
“With its open interior design layout, the vehicle can be outfitted with purpose-built interiors in accordance with the user’s needs, whether it be parcel delivery, ride sharing, or on-the-road e-commerce,” Toyota promises.
“Its flexible framework is also designed for usage optimization, allowing the e-Palette Concept to be shared to support various business needs and transition seamlessly from one application to another.”
It adds that the “e-Palette Alliance service provider partners, including Amazon, DiDi, Pizza Hut, and Uber will explore various applications of the e-Palette Concept and the MSPF to support their existing business needs. DiDi, Mazda and Uber will also join as technology partners”.