Testing services alongside public transit
The initial deployment in northwest Greater Paris will test vehicle performance and safety, connections with public transportation, and the services' economic, social and environmental effects. A second phase would extend the pilot elsewhere in the metropolitan area toward the 2030 target.
The partners want to determine where autonomous vehicles could supplement public and private transportation rather than replace it. Potential uses include first- and last-mile trips, access to employment hubs, travel outside peak hours and transportation for major events. The findings will give public officials evidence about the services' benefits, limitations and conditions for deployment.
Those questions remain relevant even as Greater Paris expands its extensive and complex transportation network. Gaps persist around employment areas and during off-peak hours. The Grand Paris Express includes the Line 14 extension, which entered service in June 2024, and four new automated metro lines: 15, 16, 17 and 18. According to the project, openings are scheduled in stages from 2026 through 2031, with the first Line 18 section, between Massy-Palaiseau and Christ de Saclay, due to open in 2026.
MGP President Patrick Ollier said the authority had carried out more than 70 experiments over the past decade to address local needs. He described the autonomous mobility partnership as an extension of that work and MGP's artificial intelligence strategy, with the aim of assessing whether the services can meet transportation needs, complement public transit and support more sustainable mobility.
Vehicles, technology and operating responsibilities
MGP, the public authority representing Paris and 129 surrounding municipalities, will coordinate the living lab. Stellantis will supply vehicles built on its Level 4-ready platforms, while Bolt will contribute its European mobility and fleet deployment capabilities.
Bolt Autonomous Driving Solutions will plan deployment and integrate the service, linking the vehicles and autonomous driving technology with Bolt's mobility platform. The partners are considering Pony.ai as the autonomous driving system provider; its system uses the NVIDIA Hyperion platform and NVIDIA Halos safety system. Pony.ai's role in the Greater Paris project has not been confirmed.
Bolt began working with Pony.ai in late 2025. On June 9, 2026, the two companies and Stellantis launched a separate pilot in Luxembourg. According to Stellantis, that program tests Pony.ai's seventh-generation, or Gen-7, autonomous vehicles in real Luxembourg traffic for safety, performance and regulatory compliance. Stellantis supplies a midsize van based on its L4-Ready Platform, and the partners aim to be ready for driverless operation by the pilot's end.
An EU framework for urban trials
The Greater Paris living lab belongs to the European Commission's Autonomous Drive Ambition Cities initiative, known as ADACities. The initiative provides a real-world setting for examining the operational, societal and regulatory conditions surrounding autonomous mobility in densely populated urban areas.
The Commission launched ADACities on June 23, 2026. Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen announced it in Brussels at the first European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance, or ECAVA, Forum. A mobility flagship of the EU's Apply AI Strategy, it builds on the Joint Declaration of Intent on a cross-border testbed for automated vehicles.
Participating cities aim to have fleets of at least 100 autonomous vehicles by 2030. That is an initiative-wide target, distinct from the Greater Paris project's municipal coverage goal. ADACities-supported partnerships must center on European automakers and technology, while remaining open to international collaboration.
Broader plans from Bolt and Stellantis
The Greater Paris project follows a partnership Stellantis and Bolt announced on December 9, 2025. At that time, they said European trials of Level 4 driverless vehicles would begin in 2026 using Stellantis' AV-Ready Platforms: the eK0 medium-size van and STLA Small. They set an initial production target of 2029.
The December announcement also set out Bolt's ambition to make 100,000 autonomous vehicles available through its shared mobility platform by 2035.
Stellantis is also involved in a separate French autonomous vehicle effort with Wayve and NVIDIA, supported by the French government. According to Highways Today, the collaboration was presented at the Assises du Véhicule Autonome on October 23, 2026. It combines Stellantis' Level 4-ready platforms with the Wayve AI Driver and NVIDIA Halos, using the NVIDIA Hyperion architecture. The arrangement has no stated production volume or commercial launch date.
