May Mobility’s Next Chapter: Introducing the Autonomous Electric Minibus
Exciting news from the world of autonomous vehicles! At CES 2025, May Mobility, a pioneering startup in autonomous vehicle technology, revealed their latest innovation: an electric, autonomous minibus. This new addition is the result of a collaboration with European electric bus manufacturer Tecnobus.
Based in Ann Arbor, May Mobility is known for its on-demand and fixed-route autonomous shuttles that are already making waves on campuses and in planned communities. Currently, their fleet is composed of 40 Toyota Sienna minivans, each retrofitted with May’s cutting-edge self-driving software and hardware. These minivans comfortably seat up to eight passengers.
- The new Tecnobus minibuses can accommodate up to 30 passengers, including those with wheelchairs.
- They are designed for urban transit, corporate campuses, airports, and planned communities.
- Features include swappable batteries to reduce downtime.
“Our partnership with Tecnobus marks a significant step forward in expanding our fleet capabilities,” shared a May Mobility spokesperson.
{TechCrunch}
These minibuses are expected to join the existing Sienna fleet by late 2026 and have already been approved for use across Europe and Canada. While TechCrunch has reached out to learn more about the number of buses May plans to introduce and the specific markets they will target, the startup currently operates in several U.S. cities including Arlington, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; and Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
Besides its U.S. operations, May Mobility is making strides internationally. In Japan, they have partnered with telecom giant NTT to license their technology for an autonomous vehicle pilot in Nagoya. They also have active deployments in Tokyo and Fukuoka.
In an exciting move towards full autonomy, May recently launched a small-scale driverless shuttle deployment in Ann Arbor, testing their capabilities without a human driver at the helm.
