Bridgestone invests in autonomous driving tech firm May Mobility
The new relationship with Bridgestone will help May Mobility scale AV operations for its growing fleet (Photo: Bridgestone Americas)
Bridgestone Americas has made a minority investment in May Mobility, marking the company’s first investment in public-serving autonomous vehicles (AVs). The new partnership paves the way for the future integration of Bridgestone’s digital and predictive tyre-centric technologies into May Mobility autonomous vehicles. The partnership will also provide Bridgestone with insights into autonomous vehicle operations that improve its core tyre products and mobility solutions.
For May Mobility, the new relationship with Bridgestone opens the door to operations in new markets, as Bridgestone Americas’ network of more than 2,200 tyre and automotive service centres will undertake vehicle servicing tasks. In addition, the Michigan-based firm will also be able to leverage Bridgestone’s mobile service provider, Firestone Direct, to support its expansion. This will further enhance its ability to scale AV operations for its growing fleet of Toyota passenger vehicles, including the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS. May Mobility plans to continue expanding operations in the USA and Japan, building sustainable, accessible, affordable AV transit solutions.
Ensuring safe, efficient & sustainable operation
“May Mobility is at the forefront of AV innovation and development, and we are excited to partner with the company through our broad service network of company-owned retail stores,” says Brian Goldstine, president of mobility solutions and fleet management, Bridgestone Americas. “Our future plans to integrate the Bridgestone suite of predictive maintenance insights will help ensure that May Mobility vehicles operate even more safely, efficiently and sustainably.”
May Mobility vehicles will also utilise insights derived from in-wheel sensors and proprietary Bridgestone predictive algorithms to monitor tyre health, including tyre pressure, temperature and tread wear, which will allow for proactive and predictive maintenance that helps improve fleet safety, efficiency and sustainability. May Mobility will also leverage Azuga, a cloud-based fleet mobility solution acquired by Bridgestone in 2021, to improve business performance through the platform’s fleet management, camera intelligence and route planning features.
“The ability to operate and service vehicles using Bridgestone’s 2,200 nationwide stores gives May Mobility an unmatched ability to scale across the country,” says Edwin Olson, chief executive officer of May Mobility. “This collaboration builds upon our shared mission of providing safe and sustainable mobility solutions on a global scale.”
Bridgestone Americas comments that this investment is “another example of Bridgestone’s continued evolution to provide smart-sensing tyres and sustainable mobility solutions.” The May Mobility partnership follows the company’s recently announced investments in mobile fuel and energy provider, Yoshi, and tyre data supplier, Tyrata. Bridgestone and May Mobility plan to launch their vehicle service integration plans later this year.
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