There is a new player in the autonomous urban mobility space. Today, Rimac Group CEO Mate Rimac revealed a new urban mobility service and vehicle at the new Rimac Campus near Zagreb, Croatia.
Verne, the new brand, is named after Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days author Jules Verne. “It was tricky to find the right name for our new endeavour that fits the vision. But once it clicked, it clicked, and it was easy to decide,” Adriano Mudri, Chief Design Officer at Verne said in a press release.
“We named ourselves after the Jules Verne, the famous author, who is said to be ‘the man who invented the future’. Just as he used the theme of travel as the driving force in his storytelling, we use it as our inspiration in shaping a future filled with imaginative innovation and tangible achievement. His faith in the future and his spirit sparked the curiosity in generations of scientists and explorers. Making things that sometimes seem impossible, possible,” he said.
Verne’s business model revolves around three key elements: a fully autonomous electric vehicle, a bespoke app, and specialised infrastructure. The brand intends to launch its first service in Zagreb in 2026.
Verne concept front. The Verne concept is a fully autonomous taxi. Verne concept front. The Verne concept is a fully autonomous taxi. Verne
The vehicle, seen publicly for the first time today, is built on a new platform that has been engineered to put safety and comfort first, hand-in-hand with autonomous mobility using Mobileye Drive’s autonomous platform.
It is expected to be produced in a specially built plant in Croatia before being deployed worldwide.
Verne will own and operate the vehicles, and not offer any for sale to consumers.
Riders will be able to customize the vehicle upon requesting it for a ride. The Verne app will allow users to hail the vehicle then choose comfort, lighting, temperature and scent features to fit their desires.
The vehicles will be managed by a Verne “Mothership” where they are inspected, maintained, cleaned and charged daily.
Verne is not the first company to launch autonomous taxis, sometimes called robotaxis. Waymo, Auto X, Cruise and others have tested the waters. Cruise, owned by General Motors, has repeatedly found itself in hot water with California residents and authorities for the behaviors of its vehicles.
Hyundai is a big investor in the space, having made continual efforts to push forward ideas for future urban transportation that include robotaxis and eVOTLs, also known as flying cars. Hyundai manufactures Ioniq 5 robotaxis at its Singapore plant.