NEVS Autonomous Robo-Taxi Launching in Stockholm

If you aren’t familiar with NEVS, then perhaps you’d be interested to know that they are a Chinese-Swedish firm that bought up SAAB when it went bankrupt back in 2011. Now, the company has been working on a new autonomous pod system, which they’re calling Sango.

They have unveiled the Sango electric robo-taxi, which will soon be making a trail run in Stockholm, with about 10 of the pods shuttling Swedes all about the city in coming years. Currently, the Sango has been undergoing tests at NEVS Trollhättan facility.

As to the pods design, well they are sleek and futuristic. They look like they would fit in the latest season of Westworld, and of course are electric skateboard-type vehicles.

The pods will be configurable into different seating arrangements based on the needs of the occupants. Private, social, and family are the three standard configurations, but the Sango features six movable seats, that can be in as many as three rows.

There are also privacy walls that can be raised or lowered. When these are raised, the Sango can fit four people with more privacy. In the family mode, the seats face inward, so all six passengers are facing one another. These details will be worked out ahead of time by an app.

NEVS being owned by China’s Evergrande Group, it should be no surprise that the AI partner for the Sango will be Shenzhen based AutoX. AutoX brings experience with level 4 autonomy to the table.

Whichever way you cut it, we’re always looking forward to more competition in the robo-taxi world. Especially the slower moving variety.