Demand for autonomous cars is growing exceptionally and surpassing capacity, said Hasan Al Hosani, CEO of Smart Solutions, Space42.

“We deployed our autonomous or robot taxis in late 2020 to 2021. Up until today, we have more than 600,000 kilometres already in full four-mode. The capacity that we have is very limited, but we have successfully done more than 20,000 trips. The demand is three times the capacity of our operations as of today. It shows that the public is actually not only embracing the new technology, but excited to actually explore that autonomous, hands-free, or even person-free... as we go forward,” Al Hosani said during a panel discussion at the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week 2025 held in the UAE capital on Monday.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels

Level four autonomous driving is a high automation that allows a vehicle to handle all driving tasks within a specific domain without human intervention.

Led by Abu Dhabi, the UAE has been aggressively pushing for autonomous vehicles and other modes of transportation to ease traffic congestion.

On November 6, Space42 and Autonomous A2Z, South Korea's leading autonomous driving company, established a joint venture to advance autonomous vehicle technologies across the UAE.

Abu Dhabi aims to make 25 per cent of all trips autonomous by 2040, as it pushes for a new model of transport in the city.

Speaking during the panel discussion, Dr Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, Acting Director-General, Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility), said 50 autonomous cars have been licensed and people will see them from next month around Abu Dhabi.

“They passed all the tests and requirements from the insurance and regulations (perspectives), and they proved that their technology is safe. But as a regulator, I have to make sure that they don't fail. If they fail, they will be shut down, and we have to restart the whole story again, because we need to build trust again with the public,” he said.

He pointed out that seven autonomous vehicles were deployed recently during the Adipec event held in Abu Dhabi.

“There was a safety officer just to make sure that and let the people feel that there is a human being (on the wheels). But there was no interaction between the driver and the vehicle. So we've already implemented, and the operations are already there,” he said.

MENAFN10112025000049011007ID1110322514