Through their newly announced partnership, Magna and May Mobility will “retrofit and scale up” May Mobility's fleet of self-driving shuttles set to enter the US market.

Magna is retrofitting low-speed self-driving micro transit electric vehicles from the chassis up, and the initial fleet of vehicles is expected to debut on June 26 with May Mobility's first commercial deployment, taking place in Detroit, Michigan.

“Magna is pleased to work with a company like May Mobility to help support new mobility in city centers,” says Swamy Kotagiri, Magna Chief Technology Officer.

“This project demonstrates our complete vehicle and technical expertise which supports both existing automakers and new companies entering the automotive space.”

Magna will work on the vehicles in its custom build center, located in Troy, Michigan, while May Mobility engineers collaborate on the development of these vehicles from the company’s Ann Arbor headquarters.

Starting with existing stock vehicles, the new partnership will create several “street-ready self-driving electric shuttles” designed by May Mobility, and assembled by Magna, that can “scale in volume to hundreds, and eventually thousands of shuttles as market demands increase.”

Magna’s team of experts is doing a full rebuild for May Mobility's self-driving shuttle, with some of the enhancements including, “body modifications such as custom doors and a panoramic moonroof; drive-by-wire upfitting to convert the vehicles into an autonomous-ready state; and sensor integration, including mounting, cabling, and streamlined cowlings.”

Using its proprietary technology stack, May Mobility will continue to further retrofit the vehicles, which the company says will bring safer and more reliable self-driving vehicles to “complex urban and residential environments.”

“Magna shares our high technical standards and excitement about servicing the growing demand for self-driving vehicles to meet today's transportation needs, while also laying the path for the future,” says Steve Vozar, founder and CTO for May Mobility.

“This deal demonstrates our commitment to scale and accelerate operations with a partner who understands quality and reliability in the build process, and who can match the exacting process that makes us a trusted community partner.”

May Mobility plans to offer on-demand services by 2019, and will expand its suite of vehicles and services based on customer demand.