Motional has announced the expansion of its West Coast operations. The company plans to open a new operations facility in Los Angeles and a new office in San Francisco. To support the growth and expansion, Motional intends to double the size of its California team (a list of open positions is available here). Additionally, Motional will conduct further road testing in the Los Angeles area with its next-generation robotaxi, an all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5.
“Los Angeles has long been an important part of Motional’s global operations that span across the U.S. and Asia, and today we’re happy to announce that we’re doubling down on our West Coast footprint,” said Karl Iagnemma, President and CEO of Motional. “This expansion is the latest in our growth trajectory and will position Motional with the talent, testing capabilities, and R&D resources we need to deliver on our commercialization roadmap.”
Diversity & Scaleability
Motional’s vehicle fleet is routinely exposed to left- and right-hand driving, complex and high-traffic roadways, a wide variety of driving behaviors, and many different weather and environmental conditions, including hot summers in Nevada.
As described by Motional, the company will continue to diversify its operations, testing, and workforce to create a network of safe driverless vehicles worldwide. “The opening of our Bay Area office reaffirms Motional’s commitment to attracting the most innovative talent in the driverless industry,” said Sammy Omari, Vice President of Autonomy in Engineering at Motional. “With our significant presence on the East and West Coasts, now including Silicon Valley, we’re able to reach a large segment of the incredible talent pool.”
Motional In The News
News of this West Coast expansion follows the launch of a unique pilot program by Motional and Eversource. That pilot program will leverage autonomous vehicles to monitor energy infrastructure and support ongoing maintenance. Motional also recently announced that Ambarella’s CVflow family of AI processors will now empower its driverless vehicle fleet.