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Melbourne-based autonomous vehicle (AV) company Applied EV is ready to assemble its first 100 Blanc Robot vehicles after securing a partnership that will see Suzuki Motor Corporation manufacture the body structures in Japan.
Suzuki Global Ventures took part in a capital raise for the company in 2023 that valued Applied EV at more than $190 million, with follow-up investment as well from Club Investible.
Now in its sixth generation, the cabin-less Blanc Robot is designed for autonomous-only operations with a configurable table-top chassis for a variety of jobs.
Applied EV claims the Blanc Robot can help solve global driver shortages in last-mile logistics and is capable of operating in industrial applications where tasks by a traditional driver may be considered dull, dirty, difficult or dangerous.
In an important milestone towards mass production, the sixth-gen product is based on the Suzuki’s long wheelbase “Jimny” platform, significantly reducing production costs and enabling high volume production.
The company claims customers will be able to double or triple shift up time from an autonomous Blanc Robot, thus improving their economics and significantly reducing carbon emissions across large-scale operations.
"The demand for autonomous vehicle fleets that integrate seamlessly into both emerging logistics companies and established enterprises has never been stronger," says Applied EV founder and CEO Julian Broadbent.
"While transportation businesses are eager to adopt cutting-edge technologies, they require complete, real and actual ‘solutions’ to drive meaningful implementation at scale. Applied EV, in collaboration with our partners, has addressed this challenge with a turnkey solution.
"Powered by software, our vehicles come in a range of sizes and can be tailored for unique autonomous driving applications.
"The Blanc Robot marks the first purpose-built autonomous vehicle released for scale, produced by Suzuki and running on Applied EV software. The first 100 production units are underway in Australia, with the capacity to scale to tens of thousands to meet demand."
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