Lyft & Aptiv To Showcase Self-Driving Cars At CES 2018 — Rides From Show For Those Who Request Them

This news is for those attending this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) show in Las Vegas who want to see what riding in a self-driving vehicle feels like. (Lookin’ at you, Loren.) Lyft and Aptiv Plc are partnering for just such a demonstration.

To be more specific, Aptiv (until very recently known as Delphi Automotive) will be providing rides in self-driving cars to Lyft users who request them — from the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Gold Lot to over 20 different locations within Las Vegas, reportedly.

Those rides will be on offer to Lyft users within Las Vegas from January 9th until January 12th. The idea, naturally, is to showcase Aptiv’s autonomous vehicle tech, while also providing users of the widely used on-demand taxi service Lyft a glimpse of the future. (Which is what the CES purports to be about, isn’t it?)

Something else worth noting here is that the two firms are now reportedly planning for further collaboration beyond the upcoming demonstration — though, what exactly that means isn’t yet clear.

Aptiv (Delphi Automotive), it bears remembering, is one of the largest auto parts suppliers in the world. So, presumably, such a collaboration would involve outfitting Lyft vehicles with tech of various kinds, but who can say for sure at this point?

Reuters provides more: “However, Aptiv told Reuters it does not have plans to publicly announce its further engagement with Lyft yet. The company said the rides, which will be available from January 9 to 12 to more than 20 locations in Las Vegas, will demonstrate Aptiv’s automated system and Lyft’s user platform.

“In 2017, Lyft secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California and struck a research collaboration with Alphabet unit Waymo. It has also secured deals with Ford Motor Co and startup Nutonomy to incorporate self-driving cars in its fleet.”

Lyft really does seem to be cozying up to every developer of self-driving car systems out there right about now — making for a harsh comparison with rival Uber, which seems to have bogged itself down to an incredible degree with trade secret theft in the sector.