Munich's largest taxi operator plans to run up to 500 self-driving cars from US company Tensor in German cities. Tensor and Münchner Taxi Zentrum (MTZ) have signed a letter of intent. They said so in a press release on Tuesday, 27 October. They announced it at the Madrid Autonomous Mobility Summit.

The fleet depends on final agreements and on approval in Germany for Level 4 driving. At that level, the car drives itself without a human at the wheel in set conditions.

“Together with Tensor, MTZ will bring autonomous vehicles to Munich's streets under its own name, with the service quality and data sovereignty our customers trust. At the same time, our professional drivers remain indispensable,” said Gregor Beiner, CEO of Münchner Taxi Zentrum.

The taxi firm keeps the customers

Under the plan, MTZ runs the service under its own brand and keeps control of its fleet, customers and data. Tensor sells the car, the Tensor Robocar, and charges a subscription for its driving software, fleet tools and support. Riders book through MTZ's existing dispatch system, and financial institutions would finance the fleets.

Tensor said it chose MTZ for its regulatory relationships and its approval for commercial operations. MTZ has worked in Munich for more than 40 years. Beiner also chairs Taxis 4 Smart Mobility, a coalition of taxi groups from six European countries. He is president of Germany's federal association of taxi and private hire firms.

“MTZ is an important partner as we bring this vision to Germany and expand across Europe,” said Jay Xiao, Tensor's founder and CEO.

10,000 more cars for Europe

The partners aim to place 10,000 more Robocars with European taxi and fleet operators. Their target is to do so within 24 months of the car becoming available in Europe. Germany has about 50,000 taxis and Europe about 500,000, according to the companies. They will also look at selling the Robocar to private buyers in Germany.

Tensor started in Silicon Valley in 2016 and has offices in San Jose, Barcelona, Singapore and Dubai. It built the Robocar for both personal ownership and robotaxi fleets. The company says the car can clean its own sensors. Riders will be able to talk to it to change the route or add a stop, it says.

Other companies have announced robotaxi plans for Europe. Bolt wants to put 25,000 driverless Lucids on European roads. Uber and Pony.ai are preparing robotaxi tests in London. Wayve, Stellantis and Nvidia have teamed up with France. In the US, Waymo plans to grow its fleet to 20,000 robotaxis by 2027.