Gasgoo Munich- ECARX (Nasdaq: ECX) has announced that its strategic partnership with U.S. autonomous driving company May Mobility is moving into a substantive phase. The two will jointly develop next-generation robotaxis and system integration based on Volkswagen Group of America's (VWGoA) ID.Buzz platform, aiming to deploy more than 10,000 autonomous vehicles by 2031.
Image Source: ECARX
The selection of the vehicle platform signals a shift from preliminary technical planning to full-scale engineering development. The ID.Buzz, with its spacious cabin and easy access, is well-suited for commercial robotaxi operations. In this project, ECARX is drawing on its expertise in in-vehicle computing, hardware-software integration, and vehicle engineering adaptation to provide engineering services for integrating May Mobility's Autonomous Development Kit (ADK) with the ID.Buzz platform. Development is already underway, with road testing slated to begin in the U.S. in early 2027 and the first mass-produced units expected to be delivered in 2028.
On the supply chain and cost front, ECARX is working with Charlton Intelligence.ai to coordinate supply chain efforts and assist May Mobility in optimizing its vehicle cost structure. Under May Mobility's plan, this collaboration model is expected to reduce vehicle costs by more than 50% compared to its current models, creating the conditions for subsequent large-scale fleet deployment.
Looking back at the partnership's trajectory, ECARX and May Mobility signed a strategic framework agreement in May 2026 to jointly develop a full-stack technical solution for next-generation robotaxis, covering customized AI central computing platforms and sensor suites. The implementation of the vehicle platform marks substantive progress under that framework, underscoring ECARX's expansion of automotive intelligence technology, engineering integration capabilities, and global supply chain resources into Level 4 autonomous driving scenarios.
