Uber to deploy 500 sensor-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5s for autonomous vehicle data collection
The ride-hailing giant’s first self-assembled vehicle since 2020 marks a strategic pivot to support over 30 autonomous technology firms, including Waymo and Avride, with a global rollout beginning in summer 2026.
Uber has announced plans to deploy a fleet of 500 modified Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles globally in 2026 to support its AV Labs division. The sensor-equipped fleet, retrofitted with cameras, lidar, and radars, aims to gather 2 million miles of high-fidelity data monthly to support autonomous vehicle partners including Waymo, Avride, and WeRide. This initiative marks the first time the company has assembled a vehicle itself since divesting its autonomous vehicle division to Aurora in 2020.
The vehicles are retrofitted with 14 cameras, eight solid-state lidar sensors, and nine radars through a partnership with Roush Performance. Data from the vehicles will be routed through Nvidia’s Dual Drive Thor autonomous vehicle computer. Uber expects 50 of these vehicles to be on the road by summer 2026, with the company stating it is open to changing the sensor suite as partners' needs evolve.
Uber’s AV Labs division launched earlier this year to use sensor-equipped vehicles to collect and share data with its 30-plus autonomous vehicle technology partners. The company stated it is open to changing the sensor suite as partners' needs evolve, aiming to develop the world’s most geographically diverse set of training data specifically geared towards autonomous driving.
The company already has a head start in data accumulation. Uber previously collected data from a fleet of thousands of specially equipped vehicles in dozens of cities. Additionally, the company captured data from hundreds of Lucid Air vehicles operating in the U.S. and Europe over the past two years.
Uber’s AV Labs division is analysing these two tranches of data and is preparing to collect even more with its modified Ioniq 5 vehicles. If successful, this dataset will give its AV partners a 360-degree, time synchronized stitched view that can be used to train self-driving software. The exact timeline for the full rollout of the 500 vehicles beyond the initial 50 by summer is not specified.
