Yandex' Autonomous Vehicles to Roam Around the Heart of Tel Aviv

Nasdaq-listed Yandex NV, the Russian multinational technology company that launched its taxi-hailing platform Yango in Israel in December, announced Thursday that its autonomous vehicle fleet is set to roam the roads of Tel Aviv. The company currently has three autonomous vehicles active in Israel and intends to operate an additional seven by the end of 2019, according to the company’s statement.

Yandex, which began conducting test trips in Israel in the final quarter of 2018, has previously only been testing its autonomous vehicles in less crowded areas of the country and in northern Tel Aviv. According to the company, it had received approval to test the autonomous vehicles in a "tougher" urban environment, in the southern Tel Aviv area. Yandex’ autonomous vehicles are already being tested on the streets of Moscow, and are in full operation in two other Russian cities. According to Yandex, its autonomous vehicles have been driven more than a combined 1,000,000 kilometers on Russian and Israeli roads.

Yandex is the second company to receive regulatory approval for autonomous vehicle testing on Israeli roads, after Intel subsidiary Mobileye.