Bolt and Nvidia Plan Madrid Autonomous Taxi Pilot for 2027

Bolt plans to start an autonomous-driving program in Madrid during 2027, using Nvidia’s Alpamayo software and future vehicles from Lucid as the European ride-hailing company tests a route toward robotaxi services.

Madrid pilot will gather driving data

Bolt told Reuters it expects tens of vehicles on Madrid’s streets next year. The city was selected because the region has created a permit for limited commercial testing of autonomous vehicles, rather than full approval for unrestricted operations.

Nvidia said the program remains subject to regulatory approval and will initially gather real-world driving data to help develop and validate the technology.

The driving software will run inside the vehicle rather than depend on an internet connection, Bolt’s head of autonomous driving Jevgeni Kabanov told Reuters, citing cybersecurity considerations.

Broader European ambitions follow

Bolt is targeting major French and German cities by the end of 2027. Nvidia said the broader European program is planned to include at least 25,000 Level 4-capable future Lucid vehicles built on its Hyperion platform.

Lucid and Bolt previously said they intend to develop an autonomous-driving-system-ready platform, with Bolt aiming to deploy at least 25,000 vehicles across European cities. That wider ambition is separate from the much smaller initial Madrid fleet.

The announcements set out production, development and deployment goals. They do not mean an unrestricted Madrid robotaxi service has already launched or received final operating approval.

Sources

• Reuters: Madrid pilot plans
• Nvidia: European mobility program
• Lucid and Bolt: joint platform announcement