The 11-seater Navya shuttle will be the first fully autonomous public transport vehicle in Luxembourg when it, and a second vehicle, is rolled out in a commune in September.

Speaking to our "Paperjam" colleagues on the sidelines of Automotive Day in Luxembourg, project manager for electromobility at Sales-Lentz Steve Marrafa said the buses will ferry passengers over a five-kilometre stretch, not currently covered by any public transport.

Reaching speeds of up to 45 k/h but with an average speed of 20 k/h, the bus can accommodate up to 15 passengers and has an autonomy of 9 hours, with a recharge taking between 4 and 8 hours, depending on the power output of the network.

Lyon-based company Navya has around 70 autonomous shuttle buses in operation on five continents. It estimates that by 2025, the world autonomous shuttle market will reach 34,000 vehicles. At the end of 2018, it plans to launch a robot taxi series dubbed “Autonom Cab”, which will be 100% autonomous.