Stellantis, Bolt and Greater Paris propose driverless pilot from 2028 under EU scheme bid

A layered partnership for a driverless test

Bolt, Stellantis and the Métropole du Grand Paris plan to test driverless services in as many as five north-western Greater Paris municipalities from 2028, aiming for around 30 by 2030, according to Automotive World, whose report draws on Stellantis. La Tribune reported the announcement of the partnership between Bolt, Stellantis and the metropolitan authority on 23 October 2026, publishing the first images of the vehicle presented at the announcement. ¹²

Each partner takes a distinct role. The metropolitan authority, covering Paris and 129 neighbouring municipalities, will coordinate locally and oversee the evaluation; Bolt will design and deploy the service; and Stellantis will supply vehicles on its level 4-ready platforms. Pony.ai's driving system would run on Nvidia's Hyperion architecture and Halos safety software, but Pony.ai is lined up as a possible supplier rather than a confirmed one. ¹

EU scheme candidacy and what approval means

The project is a candidate for the Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities scheme run by the European Commission, and the proposed commercial service remains subject to approvals, with commercial operation targeted for 2030 if those approvals are secured. Automotive World's report, sourced from Stellantis, frames the separation of city, operator, automaker and technology roles as giving regulators a structured test before any wider rollout. ¹

La Tribune's reporting on 23 October 2026 corroborates the partnership announcement, describing the parties' plan to launch robot taxis piloted by Chinese software developer Pony.ai. The La Tribune article is subscriber-only and reports on the announcement rather than providing detail beyond it, so the scope of its reporting beyond the announcement and vehicle images cannot be further verified here. ²

Target uses and evaluation criteria

Target uses for the pilot include first- and last-mile trips, access to employment areas, major events and off-peak travel — gaps that persist despite new rail lines including the Grand Paris Express. The assessment will cover safety, service quality, rider acceptance, transit integration and running costs. ¹

Executive statements

Automotive World's report, sourced from Stellantis, records that Bolt Chief Executive Markus Villig said driverless vehicles are only worthwhile if they fix genuine transport problems, and that Métropole President Patrick Ollier said the pilot must deliver tangible benefits for residents. These are the statements of the executives as reported; no further independent verification of their remarks is available here. ¹