Bridgestone Invests in May Mobility to Advance Data for AV Tires
March 21, 2022
Tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas has announced a minority investment in May Mobility, marking its first investment in public-serving autonomous vehicles (AVs). The new partnership will include the future integration of Bridgestone’s digital and predictive tire-centric technologies into May Mobility AVs, granting deeper AV intelligence for safer and more efficient operation. Through the partnership, Bridgestone said it will gain insights into AV operations to improve its core tire products and mobility solutions.
The relationship between Bridgestone and May Mobility expands the AV technology company’s ability to operate and service its vehicles in new markets, thanks to Bridgestone’s nationwide network of more than 2,200 tire and automotive service centers doing business under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works retail brands. In addition, May Mobility will be able to leverage Bridgestone’s mobile service provider, Firestone Direct, to support their expansion. May Mobility said this will enhance its ability to scale AV operations for its fleet of Toyota passenger vehicles, including the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS. May Mobility said it plans to continue expanding operations in the U.S. and Japan for sustainable, accessible and affordable AV transit solutions.
“May Mobility is at the forefront of AV innovation and development, and we are excited to partner with the company through our broad service network of company-owned retail stores,” said Brian Goldstine, president of mobility solutions and fleet management at Bridgestone Americas. “Our future plans to integrate the Bridgestone suite of predictive maintenance insights will help ensure that May Mobility vehicles operate even more safely, efficiently and sustainably.”
May Mobility vehicles will also use insights derived from in-wheel sensors and proprietary Bridgestone predictive algorithms to monitor the health of tires, including tire pressure, temperature and tread wear, which will allow for proactive and predictive maintenance to help improve fleet safety, efficiency and sustainability. Azuga, a cloud-based fleet mobility solution acquired by Bridgestone in 2021, will be used by May Mobility to improve business performance through its fleet management, camera intelligence and route planning features.
“The ability to operate and service vehicles using Bridgestone’s 2,200 nationwide stores gives May Mobility an unmatched ability to scale across the country,” said Edwin Olson, CEO of May Mobility. “This collaboration builds upon our shared mission of providing safe and sustainable mobility solutions on a global scale.”
Bridgestone and May Mobility said they plan to launch their vehicle service integration plans later this year.
For more details on May Mobility and its offerings, visit its website here.
