Bolt plans to collect driving data in Madrid in 2027 with Lucid vehicles using NVIDIA technology, subject to regulatory approval, as it develops an autonomous ride-hailing service for Europe.
Bolt said Oct. 21 it had chosen NVIDIA’s Alpamayo Stack driving software for the vehicles, which would also use NVIDIA’s Hyperion computing and sensor platform. Madrid data collection is intended to help develop and test the technology ahead of a wider rollout targeted at no fewer than 25,000 Level 4-ready Lucid vehicles.
Bolt and Lucid announced their partnership in September, saying the vehicles would draw on Lucid’s upcoming Midsize platform. Lucid said Bolt intends to own and operate the fleet, develop the passenger service and build the infrastructure to support it. Bolt has cited an earlier autonomous mobility launch in Luxembourg as a step toward the Madrid program.
Bolt also aims to have 100,000 autonomous vehicles on its platform across Europe and the wider United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region by 2035. The company has identified Germany and France as markets for future expansion.
Reuters reported that Bolt expects “tens of vehicles” on Madrid streets in 2027 and is targeting major French and German cities by the end of that year.
NVIDIA’s European plans extend beyond Bolt’s fleet. Volvo Cars plans to use Hyperion and Alpamayo in a next-generation vehicle. Mercedes-Benz is developing Level 3 and Level 4 capabilities with NVIDIA, while it describes its MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO system as SAE Level 2. Mercedes-Benz expects the system to be available to order in Germany in the first half of 2027. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has presented an ID. Buzz AD platform using Hyperion.
For freight trucks, Einride plans to evaluate Alpamayo in its driving system. During initial tests, the model will run without controlling the truck; Einride plans a live road evaluation in the second half of 2027.
NVIDIA also introduced Halos SAFE, a framework for assembling safety evidence from simulation, vehicle testing and fleet monitoring. It named dSPACE, IVEX and TÜV Rheinland as collaborators on evaluation methods. Bolt’s next stated step is Madrid data collection in 2027, pending regulatory approval.
