Enterprise Rent-A-Car is using its fleet and finance expertise to support an autonomous vehicle project in the United States.

The self-driving taxis provide door-to-door transport for 125,000 residents of a retirement community in Florida spread over 40 square miles.

Managing the fleet of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid MPVs, Enterprise has allowed Voyage, the company behind the service, to increase its reach and scale rapidly.

There are currently six autonomous vehicles on the fleet, with plans for 10 by the end of this year, and a significant upscale on the cards for 2019. Currently there is still a test driver in each car, “but we are closer than many might think to removing the need for that driver,” said Oliver Cameron, chief executive officer of Voyage.

Enterprise will purchase, lease, and service the fleet of autonomous vehicles.

“The lease allows Voyage to retrofit vehicles with our self-driving hardware,” said Cameron. “When the lease term is up, we simply return the vehicle to Enterprise, and recycle any vehicle equity back into expanding our fleet.”

“World-class fleet management is fundamental to the long-term success of autonomous fleets,” said Brice Adamson, senior vice president at Enterprise Fleet Management

 

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