Originally published on CleanTechnica.
The Y Combinator–backed startup OSVehicle has revealed what it claims to be the first modular “ready-to-use self-driving EV” product out there. It is a “white label” product (any branding is fine) and various design cues can be implemented.
The idea behind the startup is to provide fleet owners with a lot of options as regards specific needs. The new offering, since it hasn’t been mentioned yet, is dubbed “EDIT.” Here’s a video on the matter:
And some further information, via Tech Crunch: “Emerging out of stealth mode after a year in development, the idea is that auto companies can customize EDIT’s specifications. That means you could tinker with any variant, drawing on self-driving hardware, a connected car, the code, the vehicle range, the look. The advantage being that it’s faster to market (half the time in fact) and with lower investments (around one sixth the cost).”
Here’s more: “This white-label, self-driving ‘Vehicle as a Service’ means companies could quickly create models tailored for each service and country. In other words, it’s taking advantage of the move towards food delivery, ride and car sharing, which means vehicles would tailored to the application, not the car brand.”
That sounds, overall, like an idea that can probably get some traction behind it, though it remains to be seen if OSVehicle will be able to take advantage of this potential market opening or if some other company will have to follow in its footsteps at a later point and do something similar.
Reprinted with permission.