Electromin Purchases Navya Autonomous Shuttle for Pilot Programs in Middle East—Updated

Electric vehicle solutions company Electromin announced earlier this month that it has purchased a self-driving shuttle from Navya, an autonomous mobility robotics company.

The company said it will use the shuttle for pilot projects for its clients in Saudi Arabia.

Electromin is a subsidiary of Petromin Corp, which makes lubricants, automotive technology, and multimodal mobility and sustainable transportation systems. Saudi Arabia-based Electormin focuses on creating electric vehicle infrastructure for both commercial and government markets.

In 2015, Lyon, France-based Navya released the Autonom Shuttle, a passage shuttle vehicle. To date, it has sold 200 units in 25 different countries.

Electormin has been working with Navya since July 2022, and said it pulled the trigger on the Navya purchase to help it “demonstrate the advantages of the autonomous shuttle.”

“This new sale of an autonomous shuttle will open the door to further projects in Saudi Arabia, and will allow Navya to consolidate its position in this strategic market with emerging smart cities and ambitious greenfield projects that are appearing across the Middle East. Electromin is already working with one Government entity to trial autonomous vehicles which this first shuttle will be part of,” Navya said in a release.

Pilot to launch with Navya shuttle

"We are happy with our first acquisition of a self-driving shuttle from Navya. It will allow us to develop our skills and speed in providing our clients with a service that is both quick and versatile and will enable us to speed up the trials of a number of wide-ranging deployment projects over the whole of the region,” stated Kalyana Sivagnanam, group CEO of Petromin Corp. and CEO of Electromin. “Autonomous shuttles are key to our mobility plans in Saudi Arabia, and Electromin's partnership with Navya will help us contribute to the Kingdom's Vision 2030."

"The joint project to speed up development in Saudi Arabia represents a new step in our partnership with Electromin. Electromin's acquisition of a Navya autonomous shuttle will enable us to optimize the services we provide for our Middle Eastern customers, based on close collaboration at the local level that meets their needs as closely as possible, stated Sophie Desormière, CEO of Navya.

“Several sustainable transportation projects are already ongoing in what is a highly strategic region for Navya, and demonstrations in real-life conditions are a must in order to build well-structured projects and to prepare the vehicles for their roll-out in their actual operating environment,” Desormière added.

Last month, Navya said it has received the third tranche of €2 million ($2.1 million U.S.) in funding from Negma toward a potential maximum of €36 million ($38.2 million).

Editor's note: Navya announced on Dec. 15 that NavCap, its communications agency, released news of its €30 million ($31 million) financing without its permission. The company has requested that its share price be suspended on Dec. 12 to allow investigations in to potential fraud. The text regarding this item has been removed from this article.