Nuro Invests in First U.S. Manufacturing and Testing Facilities
August 26, 2021
Nuro, which is developing autonomous delivery vehicle technologies, has announced a $40 million investment to build two new facilities in southern Nevada: an end-of-line manufacturing facility and world-class closed-course test track. The facilities will help Nuro commercialize and scale production of the company’s third-generation autonomous vehicle.
“This is a significant moment for Nuro,” said Jiajun Zhu, co-founder and CEO of Nuro. “Building on our tremendous momentum – including strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Domino’s, Kroger, and FedEx and operations in three states – we are now able to invest in the infrastructure to build tens of thousands of robots. We greatly appreciate the state’s leadership in working with us to finalize this partnership. The decision to place these facilities in Southern Nevada was an easy one.”
The new production facility will enable the company to meet demand for its third-generation autonomous vehicles with current and future partners, Nuro said. Totalling more than 125,000 square feet, and over 80 acres of property development, the new commercial facility will allow Nuro to quickly manufacture its electric delivery AVs in the coming years with help from BYD North America. The companies will deliver an assembled-in-America electric vehicle platform that Nuro will transform into autonomous vehicles. Nuro said it will design, develop, and operate all software and digital infrastructure from U.S.-based servers to ensure safety and privacy. The company said the significant investment in American innovation will help retain America’s global leadership in self-driving technology, and also solidify Nevada’s role at the heart of a burgeoning industry.
A commitment to safety is one of the reasons Nuro is investing in the closed-course testing facility, to validate its robots before deploying them in local communities. The company said automated delivery vehicles are a vital step towards reducing traffic fatalities caused by human-driven vehicles. The company said it will take over 74 acres of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to build a world-class, closed-course testing facility that will allow sophisticated development and validation of its autonomous on-road vehicles. The testing track will measure robot performance in several scenarios, including avoiding pedestrians and pets, giving bicycles space on shared roadways, environmental tests and vehicle systems validation.
“Investing in the technological advancement of autonomous vehicles will allow us to better address the pressing issue of safety on Nevada’s roads,” said U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen. “I remain enthusiastic about these efforts in Nevada, which will provide benefits to our communities.”
Construction on the production facility will begin in Fall 2021, with completion expected in 2022. Nuro said both facilities are expected to be fully operational in 2022. For more details on Nuro, visit its website here.
