The science fiction fantasy of autonomous taxis is inching closer to reality.
Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and Motional, which is a joint venture of Hyundai (OTCMKTS:HYMTF) and Aptiv (NYSE:APTV), will be dishing out driverless cabs as early as the second half of next year. Customers will be able to book rides through the Lyft app and be transported in Hyundai IONIQ 5-based autonomous taxis. Moreover, both companies will then gear up for a full-scale launch by 2023.
Motional and Lyft recently green-lit Las Vegas as the first city to launch an autonomous vehicle (AV) service. In November last year, Nevada allowed Motional to test out its AVs without a driver. Earlier this year, Motional has announced an expansion of its operational workforce and significantly increased its testing facility’s size.
With these game-changing developments, these AV stocks could become red-hot investments in the foreseeable future. They represent some of the best AV stocks that are moving the industry’s needle.
Autonomous Taxis: Luminar (LAZR)
Luminar specializes in the development of lidar products that are used for AVs. Its sensors provide a 3D view of a vehicle’s surroundings and its spatial positioning.
In the past year, LAZR stock has been facing some turbulence in the stock market, which has led to a healthy correction in its price. It currently trades at a highly attractive price.
It recently posted its third-quarter results, where its top-line grew by 89.1% from the prior-year period to $7.98 million. Moreover, it unveiled its Proactive Safety functionality during the quarter, which is likely to improve its self-driving technology significantly.
Additionally, it has inked multiple partnerships, including some of the top autonomous trucking enterprises such as Kodiak Robotics and Embark Trucks.
Baidu (BIDU)
Next, we have Chinese tech giant Baidu. Its primarily known for its search engine, which owns more than 75% market share in the Chinese search engine market. Moreover, it is also the second-largest search engine globally.
In recent times though, Baidu has expanded its tentacles in AV and intelligent driving solutions.
In its annual tech conference, Baidu World, CEO Robin Li laid down his vision for future mobility through “robocars”. He believed that driving in the future will involve cars that can act as intelligent assistants and drive autonomously. Moreover, he also talked extensively about the shift to a new era for AVs, shown by a transition towards large-scale commercial operation.
Baidu has announced the launch of its new robotaxi services platform called Luobo Kuaipao to accelerate autonomous driving commercialization further. Therefore, it might not be long before the Baidu’s AV segment starts firing for the company.
Autonomous Taxis: Intel (INTC)
In 2017, semiconductor giant Intel purchased Mobileye and soon became a top player in the AV realm. Mobileye has proven itself as one of the top producers of driver-assistance systems.
One of the key elements which set it apart from the competition is its data. It has data-sharing agreements with several automotive giants and collects more than 5 million miles of data daily.
Mobileye recently previewed its five-year strategy at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show, where it announced its intention to mass-produce its laser sensors by 2025. Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua stated that “The backing of Intel and the trinity of our approach means that Mobileye can scale at an unprecedented manner.”
Intel has the potential to become a major player in this AV sector with Mobileye’s developments.
On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.