Apple Has Added 51 More Drivers in 2022 While Fleet Size Remains Steady
Reading Time: 3 minutes Since our last report in September 2022, there have been changes in the autonomous vehicle testing programs of some of the major players, according to the California DMV:
- Apple has added 8 more drivers to its team for a total of 188 while its fleet size holds steady at 69.
- Waymo has reduced its driving team by 79 and fleet size by 10.
- Cruise has increased its driving team by 27 and added 133 vehicles.
- Zoox has also bumped its program, with 145 more drivers and 13 more vehicles.
Since this time last year, in November 2021, Apple has added 51 more drivers to its team of autonomous vehicle test drivers. During that time, Apple has not increased the size of its autonomous vehicle test fleet. In fact, July 2021 saw the most recent increase in Apple’s fleet size, with a move from 68 vehicles to 69. This is all according to the California DMV, which keeps records on manufacturers testing autonomous vehicles in California.
Fleet volumes
Fleet volumes from California DMV as of November 10, 2022
| Manufacturer Name | Drivers | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|
| MERC BENZ | 142 | 45 |
| WAYMO | 978 | 335 |
| TESLA | 86 | 22 |
| CRUISE | 444 | 519 |
| ZOOX | 964 | 132 |
| NVIDIA | 266 | 14 |
| APPLE | 188 | 69 |
| TOYOTA | 35 | 34 |
| NURO | 102 | 44 |
| MOTIONAL | 60 | 66 |
| WOVEN PLANET | 77 | 38 |
Driverless programs
Apple is still not involved in driverless testing in California. In our last report, Waymo and Cruise had both significantly boosted their driverless fleets. Since September, Waymo has dropped its fleet size back down while Cruise has made additions.
- Waymo decreased its driverless fleet from 316 to 272.
- Cruise has added 40 more vehicles.
Driverless fleet volumes as of November 10, 2022
| Manufacturer | Vehicles |
|---|---|
| WAYMO | 272 |
| NURO | 14 |
| AUTOX | 1 |
| ZOOX | 2 |
| CRUISE | 293 |
| APOLLO | 4 |
| WERIDE | 4 |
Driverless deployment
The list of manufacturers who are licensed to deploy their driverless cars has remained unchanged since September 2021.
| Issue Date | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Dec 23, 2020 | NURO |
| Sep 30, 2021 | CRUISE |
| Sep 30, 2021 | WAYMO |
Collision Volumes
All the autonomous vehicle testers in California must report even the smallest of incidents with their vehicles. The collisions reported range from cosmetic damage caused by road debris to more serious at-fault crashes.
- Waymo adds 5 collisions.
- Cruise adds 0 new collisions despite having one of the largest programs.
- Zoox increased its collision count by 4.
- Apple has 2 additional collisions.
Apple’s latest collisions, both in October, are both described as:
- “… a test vehicle operating in manual driving mode was stopped at a red light … when [another vehicle] made [light] contact from the rear. No injuries were reported and law enforcement was not called to the scene.”
| Manufacturer | Collisions |
|---|---|
| WAYMO | 214 |
| CRUISE | 195 |
| ZOOX | 63 |
| APPLE | 14 |
| AURORA | 4 |
| WERIDE | 4 |
| ARGO | 4 |
| MOTIONAL | 2 |
| NISSAN | 1 |
| AIMOTIVE | 1 |
| TOYOTA | 1 |
Previous coverage of Apple’s autonomous vehicle program
- June 2022: New Apple Autonomous Vehicle Data: 7 More Drivers for Apple’s Fleet
- March 2022: Apple Adds More Drivers to Its Autonomous Vehicle Program
- January 2022: Apple Adds 11 Drivers to Autonomous Fleet; Other Manufacturers See Changes
Early autonomous vehicle coverage
