French autonomous driving firm Navya and Bluebus, a French manufacturer of electric buses, are collaborating on the development of an autonomous six metre bus.

The two companies will pool their expertise through a technical partnership to design and develop the self-driving vehicle.

The development will be based on the platform of Bluebus, a company with expertise in the design, development, manufacture and sale of 100% electric buses integrating lithium metal batteries.

The vehicle’s braking, acceleration and directional components will be automated to work with Navya’s autonomous driving software. Many interactions with the on-board equipment will also be manageable via Navya’s software.

Jean-Luc Monfort, Chairman and CEO of Bluebus, said: “The combination of our mutual expertise should enable us to envisage the development of an autonomous six metre shuttle bus for tomorrow’s mobility. This collaboration is part of the strategy of constant improvement of the Bluebus range of vehicles”.

Etienne Hermite, CEO of Navya, said: “We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with Bluebus, which is a major player in electric mobility and with whom we share the same strategic, technical and commercial vision. The vehicles and technologies developed by the Bolloré Group will find very interesting additional markets thanks to Navya’s systems. This partnership is fully in line with Navya’s strategy of deploying level 4 autonomous driving systems on a wide range of vehicle platforms, for the transportation of people and goods. This agreement should enable Navya to take a major step forward in its development by providing an autonomous, electric, sustainable and more widely deployable mobility service to public administrations and our partners”.