GM, Cruise and Honda are teaming up to introduce a driverless ride-hailing service in Japan, which could launch in early 2026 if things go according to plan. The companies have entered a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture for the project, and they're hoping to establish the company in the first half of 2024, provided they're able to secure the necessary regulatory approvals by then. Their ride-hailing service will deploy the Cruise Origin electric shuttle van that the companies had developed together. It's a self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel or even a driver's seat, which means it also has no pedals and no rearview mirror. Instead, it has a big cabin space where up to six passengers can sit facing each other, and its doors slide open like a subway's. "The opportunity for the ridehail service in Japan, which is expected to be the first of its kind, is huge," GM said in its announcement.

Lyft and Motional have announced plans to launch a driverless ride-hailing service in Los Angeles using Ioniq 5 EV Level 4 robotaxis. Los Angeles will be the second city serviced by the two companies, which started offering public rides in Las Vegas earlier this year. Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, has been testing autonomous vehicles without safety drivers for exactly two years. As with the Las Vegas service, the Ioniq 5 vehicles will be integrated into Lyft's Los Angeles network. When the car arrives, you can unlock the doors using the Lyft app, and each vehicle has a dedicated passenger display that can be used to contact a remote agent at any time.