Suffolk displayed the ADASTRA autonomous shuttle prototype as part of a trial to integrate self-driving shuttle services into its future mobility network, with the council working alongside Smart City Consultancy and Ohmio UK on a 325,000 pound feasibility study. The New Zealand-developed vehicle has no steering wheel or driver's seat, carries up to 14 passengers and reaches 40 mph, though trial runs were restricted to eight seated passengers at 15 mph. The trial tests technical, operational and regulatory aspects of autonomous shuttles in the UK.
NHTSA proposed optional cyan marker lamps for vehicles equipped with automated driving systems, specifying color, placement and activation requirements to visually signal that a vehicle is operating without a human driver. The proposal aims to help police and other drivers identify self-driving cars as automated vehicles proliferate on US roads.
Waymo expanded driverless service by nearly 250 square miles across five US metro areas, adding Torrance, La Jolla and a Berryessa BART link. On 5 November Waymo told riders severe weather pauses may last hours or even days. The disclosure sets explicit winter availability limits on a service increasingly written into corporate travel policies.
NHTSA granted Tesla a five-week extension to respond to information requests in its federal probe of Full Self-Driving and Autopilot, after the original December deadline carried daily penalties for non-compliance. Tesla reported 8,313 potential traffic violation complaints but can process only about 300 per day. The extension signals escalating regulatory scrutiny of Tesla's driver assist systems in the US.
Tesla launched paid Cybercab robotaxi service in Austin in September and told regulators the vehicles meet federal safety rules, while NHTSA opened an audit into the certification and the car's lack of manual controls. Elon Musk said Gigafactory Texas will shift from Cybertruck to Cybercab production next year. The audit tests whether a purpose-built vehicle without manual controls can clear US federal safety compliance.
Uber, Pony.ai and Croatian startup Verne announced plans to launch Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, with Uber providing the ride-hailing platform, Pony.ai supplying autonomous driving technology and Verne handling operations and regulatory approval. The fleet will use BAIC's ARCFOX Alpha T5 electric SUV equipped with Pony.ai's seventh-generation system. No launch date is set, but initial deployment is underway, signaling Europe's first commercial robotaxi push.
Waymo received approval from the Ontario government to join a provincial pilot program and will begin testing robotaxis in Toronto this year with safety drivers, targeting first passengers in 2028. The company is partnering with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management and starting with high-definition street mapping. The expansion marks Waymo's entry into the Canadian market and tests its technology in winter weather conditions.
Tesla has rebranded its European driver assistance system as Tesla Assisted Driving and cut the speed tolerance margin over posted limits from 50 percent to 10 percent. On a 100 km/h motorway the system previously allowed up to 150 km/h but will now stay far closer to the legal limit. The change tightens regulatory compliance for Tesla's assisted driving features across Europe.
Uber and Wayve launched supervised autonomous rides in London, the first autonomous trips available in the United Kingdom. Riders requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort may be matched with an all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E running the Wayve AI Driver at no extra cost. The launch makes London a new European AV deployment market and pairs Uber's demand network with Wayve's end-to-end driving AI.
Baidu's Apollo unit unveiled Apollo World, an agent-driven multimodal world model for physical AI, at its AI Day event in Shenzhen on November 3. The model is built around causality and interactivity to train self-driving systems as robotaxi operations expand in Shenzhen and Beijing. The launch signals a shift by Chinese AV developers toward world models for more effective simulation-based training.
Stellantis and Pony.ai launched Europe's first autonomous robotaxi trials using Peugeot e-Traveller electric vans fitted with the AV-Ready Platform and Pony.ai technology, targeting Level 4 hands-free, eyes-off autonomy. Stellantis contributes industrial scale in light commercial vehicles while Pony.ai brings 55 million kilometers of autonomous driving experience. The testing phase aims to build the regulatory and community confidence needed for European deployment.
Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Transport approved implementing regulations for self-driving passenger transport, effective 60 days after the November 6, 2026 decision. The rules aim to organize driverless passenger services, encourage sector investment, and address safety and environmental requirements under the National Transport and Logistics Strategy, opening a regulated path for AV deployment.
Toyota and Waymo will begin testing autonomous taxis in Japan in 2027, targeting the country's first fully driverless ride-hailing service using domestically manufactured vehicles. Toyota will build Level 4 autonomous bZ4X vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Aichi Prefecture with Waymo technology integrated during production. The partners also plan expansion to the United Kingdom and other markets.
A first-hand account describes riding Pony.ai robotaxis in Shenzhen and Baidu Apollo Go vehicles in Beijing, noting initial unease gave way to comfort without a human driver. The rides illustrate how robotaxi services in major Chinese cities are moving into routine urban transportation and shaping consumer expectations for driverless mobility.
Amazon's Zoox received NHTSA approval to offer its steering-wheel-free, carriage-style robotaxi service to the public in Las Vegas, the first US approval for human-free rides. The exemption from federal safety rules covers Zoox's unconventional design with inward-facing seats. The approval sets a precedent for certifying purpose-built autonomous vehicles that fall outside traditional automotive safety standards.
India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has published draft rules mandating cybersecurity (AIS-189) and software update management (AIS-190) for specified vehicle categories, aligning with EU, Japanese and South Korean standards. Implementation will be phased by risk exposure, prioritizing vehicles with higher automation levels and over-the-air update capability. The rules would impose formal cybersecurity and update governance obligations on OEMs selling into the Indian market. The draft is open for comment, and final timelines and enforcement details are still pending.
May Mobility launched autonomous shuttle testing on public streets in Columbus, Ohio in December as part of the Smart Columbus and DriveOhio initiatives. The Michigan-based company supplied the vehicles for what officials describe as Ohio's first self-driving shuttle pilot. The deployment expands real-world shuttle operations into a new midwestern market and supports Columbus' smart city ambitions.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey sent letters to 18 automakers demanding updates on how they protect vehicle owners from cyberattacks and privacy invasions tied to in-car electronic systems. The inquiry follows high-profile incidents in which researchers hacked vehicle entertainment systems, in some cases gaining control of the car. It renews Markey's 2013 investigation into automotive cybersecurity vulnerabilities and pressures manufacturers on infotainment and connected-system security. The letters seek disclosure of protective measures, signaling continued legislative scrutiny of automaker security practices.
Affected Vehicle Make & Model
Jeep, Cherokee
Observed MITRE ATT&CK techniques
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services
Global Automotive Cyber Incidents/Eventsinformational
Uber hired Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, the security researchers who remotely hacked a Jeep Cherokee, to defend its self-driving cars against cyber attacks. The pair joined Uber's Advanced Technologies Center alongside autonomous vehicle experts recruited from Carnegie Mellon University. The hires reflect growing industry focus on vehicle cybersecurity as AV fleets expand.
BYD unveiled an 8.5-metre Level 4 autonomous electric bus, the B90, with partner MOGOX at Singapore Urban Mobility Week, and launched a C12 DUO coach in Birmingham. BYD supplies the platform while MOGOX provides the self-driving system, signaling Chinese OEMs expanding autonomous transit exports amid rising receivables and European political scrutiny.
About two dozen Tesla Cybercab test vehicles were spotted on public roads across Metro Detroit, including I-696, M-10 and Telegraph Road, in early November 2026. The camera-only robotaxis reportedly carried steering wheels, contradicting the production design. Testing in Michigan's winter conditions raises questions about camera-only perception performance when lane markings are obscured by snow and road salt.
Fourteen Members of the European Parliament have formally asked the European Commission to assess whether BYD vehicles pose a security threat to the EU and to consider restrictions including exclusion from public procurement. The written question, led by French MEP Francois Kalfon and submitted on 4 November, requests that ENISA evaluate the security risks of BYD vehicles and consider placing the carmaker on a high-risk supplier list. The move signals growing regulatory scrutiny of connected vehicles from third countries and their potential links to sensitive European infrastructure. No assessment outcome or binding action has been announced, leaving procurement and market-access implications unresolved.
A Chinese-affiliated startup conducted a test run of a driverless bus in Tokyo, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. The trial places Chinese autonomous shuttle technology on Japanese public roads. It reflects growing cross-border deployment of autonomous bus platforms in Japan's transport market.
Global Automotive Cyber Incidents/Eventsinformational
Fiat Chrysler launched a bug bounty program operated by Bugcrowd, paying researchers up to 1,500 dollars for reporting security flaws in its vehicles and connected devices. The program followed an FBI warning that carmakers' products were increasingly vulnerable to hacking, and payouts scale with the severity of the identified flaw. The move formalizes vulnerability disclosure for FCA's connected vehicle fleet and gives researchers a sanctioned reporting channel. The program reflects a broader shift toward crowdsourced security testing across the automotive industry.
Chinese automakers are standardizing roof or in-cabin lidar, multi-sensor suites and high-compute ADAS stacks in production models ahead of GB 44721-2026, a mandatory national safety standard for L3 and L4 systems effective July 1, 2027. The regulation requires specific human-machine interaction, takeover monitoring and minimum risk strategies. The deadline forces design and certification changes across China's high-level ADAS vehicle pipeline.