Mountain View-based robotics company Nuro plans to invest $40 million in a production facility at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For the uninitiated, Nuro produces autonomous vehicles for pizza, prescription drug and grocery deliveries between US cities.
What the company plans to build in the area is an EoL (end-of-line) production facility cum a closed testing track for its next-generation driverless vehicle. US Senator Jacky Rosen and Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak joined Nuro’s Jiajun Zhu as he announced the company’s project. In March 2020, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development approved around $170,500 as tax reductions over ten years for the project.
In a recent statement, Zhu pointed to Nuro’s partnerships with Kroger, Domino’s and FedEx as well as operating in Silicon Valley, the Phoenix region, and Houston. During the announcement of the project, Zhu stated that Nuro could now invest in Nevada’s infrastructure to create a large number of robots.
Governor Sisolak cited Nuro’s promise about a capital investment of $10 million creating 250 skilled jobs in southern Nevada’s technology industry over the next ten years. The remaining investment of $30 million would go to long-term lease arrangements for the production and testing venues. Governor Sisolak also stated that Nuro’s project could create $2.2 billion as total economic value (TEV) over ten years.
Sisolak alluded to the fact that bringing high-quality career options to the community is more important than introducing new employment positions to Nevada.
Dave Ferguson and Zhu head the privately-held company as well as are involved in the driverless vehicle-related Waymo project as engineers. Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration authorized Nuro to test five-thousand of the company’s R2 driverless vehicles delivering groceries in Arizona and pharmacy products in Houston. The company stated that the automobiles have four wheels and package compartments but lack a steering wheel and pedals.
By 2022, Nuro plans to manufacture its next-generation driverless vehicle at this Las Vegas site with the help of BYD North America. It said that the venue would be the US’s first EoL production facility for self-driving vehicles for delivery.