Honda Level 4 Autonomous Taxi Exhibited At JMS 2023

Cruise Origin. (Doc. Honda Global)

JAKARTA - Honda Motor Co. introduced the ride-hailing service for driverless taxi (autonomous) Cruise Origin at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show mobility exhibition.

As previously reported by VOI, the Cruise Origin service is the result of a collaboration between Honda Motor Co., with Cruise and General Motors Company (GM). The driverless ride-hailing service will operate in Japan in early 2026.

The agreement was marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding signed by Toshihiro Mibe, Founder and CEO of Cruise Kyle Vogt, and Chair and CEO of GM Mary Barra. Cruise Origin is a self-driving (autonomous) vehicle without a driver's seat or steering wheel.

The vehicle is specifically designed for driverless ride-hail services that will pick up customers from the pick-up point location and take customers to their designated destination.

Customers can use a special application on smart phones to control and manage the entire process, from bookings to payments.

"Our products and mobility services allow people to surpass various obstacles such as time, place, and limited resources. Cruise Origin, an autonomous vehicle, will allow people to exceed time constraints," said Honda Motor President Co. Toshihiro Mibe in Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, October 25.

Cruise Origin offers a wide and comfortable cabin room, which provides the experience of driving in private vehicles. The vehicle is capable of transporting up to six passengers simultaneously, with seats facing each other.

The driverless ride-hail service is expected to provide innovative mobility experiences and are available to various customer segments, including business people, families, visitors, and others.

"Time is an absolute obstacle for most people. Products and mobility services that allow people to use the limited time given to everyone, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, more efficiently for more meaningful things will provide great value to people," Toshihiro said, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, October 26. Cruise Origin's vehicle will be classified as a level 4 autonomous vehicle, which is the second highest level of five autonomous levels of technology. Level 4 means the vehicle is fully automated under certain conditions.

The plan is that the three companies will start this driverless ride-hail service in downtown Tokyo in early 2026.