Monthly focus: Autonomous vehicles – 2026 and beyond

This article is being updated throughout February to bring you the latest insights.

2026 is set to be a pivotal year for autonomous vehicles (AVs). Tesla’s Cybercab is due to be revealed and Uber’s Lucid vehicles, powered by Nuro Driver, are expected on roads later this year. 

But what does this mean for design? As discussed during CDN’s November monthly focus on AVs, these vehicles challenge traditional notions of automotive design – from seating layouts to how to build an emotional connection through design. Interiors must communicate safety, comfort and trust while the exterior must visually signal autonomous capabilities to other road users. As this technology develops, AVs have both technological and design expectations to balance.

Tesla continues to push the boundaries of consumer-level autonomy. The Cybercab is planned for production in 2026, part of the company’s strategy to scale fully autonomous robotaxi services across US cities. Its exterior features a minimalist, aerodynamic silhouette with integrated sensor arrays blended into the body. Inside, Tesla is focusing on a spacious and, again, minimalistic design with space for two passengers and a 20.5-inch central infotainment screen. More to come later in the month on the design of the Cybercab. Tesla combines incremental software updates with data-driven training from its fleet to improve autonomy over time – meaning what happens next is dependent on performance. In the meantime, Tesla expects its full self-driving (FSD) Supervised system to launch in Europe this year, with this technology only available via subscription to monetise the system.

Collaborations are becoming increasingly important. Lucid’s partnerships with Nuro and Uber aims to bring premium EVs into scalable robotaxi fleets. Nuro supplies the autonomous technology for the Lucid Gravity model, featuring a 360-degree sensor suite (including cameras, lidar and radar) and NVIDIA Drive AGX Thor compute for real-time AI driving. Uber operates are manages the service, with initial rollout expected later in 2026. If successful, Uber plans to deploy 20,000+ robotaxis globally over six years, marking the largest robotaxi deployment commitments announced so far by an EV maker and mobility platform. 

Another OEM, Ford, might be further behind but is taking autonomy step by step. Ford introduced BlueCruise, an advanced driver-assist system that enables ‘hands-off, eyes-on’ motorway driving in pre-mapped areas. This system manages steering, acceleration. Braking, lane positioning and following distances. In 2026, this Level 2+ driver assist system will be expanding to additional models such as the Puma and Kuga. Level 3 autonomy is planned to arrive in 2028, with the ‘eyes-off’ autonomous driving. It is clear Ford’s strategy is slow, but steady, and the company doesn’t appear to be pursuing Level 4 at this moment in time.

Meanwhile, Waymo, who already operate robotaxis in several U.S cities including San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, is set to scale its robotaxi operations internationally in 2026. The company is targeting expansion into more than 20 new US cities, such as Detroit and Nashville, as well as international hubs such as London and Tokyo.

This comes off the back of Waymo raising a US$16 billion funding round to expand into these new cities, increase fleet size and accelerate technology deployment. As for technology, the Waymo integrates lidar, radar, cameras and an onboard computer to achieve Level 4 autonomy – but the company faces regulatory challenges in new markets and scrutiny after incidents, including a robotaxi striking a child in California. The company maintains that AVs show fewer serious crashes than human drivers, though regulators will ultimately evaluate these claims. 

Not all players are US-centric. China’s Baidu Apollo Go and Pony.ai continue rapid expansion. Apollo Go has already expanded its Level 4 robotaxi operations to around 20 cities in China and in 2026 the company is focused on widening its reach into Europe and the Middle East – teaming up with Uber in London and AutoGo in Abu Dhabi. Pony.ai also aims for expansion, wanting to increase its robotaxi fleet to over 3,000 vehicles by the end of 2026 (tripling the size of its fleet) and partnering with Stellantis to deploy Level 4 Avs in Europe. However, the sudden apparent collapse of Jidu Robotaxi in 2024 shows how precarious the market for this new technology can be.

To that end regulatory oversight is tightening. In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the US Department of Transportation are assessing vehicle safety – while balancing an active effort to speed up self-driving car deployment. Meanwhile, European and Asian authorities issue guidelines for Level 3 and 4 systems. Compliance impacts design choices, from interior safety features and passenger monitoring to sensor packaging and emergency protocols.

For those shaping the next generation of cars, the era of autonomous mobility is already here. Keep up to date with Car Design News this month to see what unfolds.