Topic
The European Union's system for certifying vehicle types for sale and use across all member states, including a small series route for limited annual volumes.
Germany's transport minister Steffen Bilger said he would actively push for EU-wide approval of Tesla's Full Self-Driving software. His backing puts the bloc's most populous state behind a bid that needs 15 of 27 countries holding more than 65% of EU residents.
Reality
German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger wants Tesla's driver aid approved EU-wide, building on a Dutch approval that took more than 18 months. His ministry also questions the Full Self-Driving name, so a European launch looks set to be a renamed product with the driver still responsible.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishersReality
Tesla's Full Self-Driving software has national approval in eight EU countries holding about 12.6% of the bloc's population. Reaching the other 87.4% needs a bloc-wide committee vote that has not yet been held, so Europe is a smaller FSD market than Tesla's lobbying push implies.
Reality
Lucid built 2,954 cars in the third quarter, 38% fewer than in the second, against pledges of 45,000 driverless cars for Bolt and Uber. In Europe the harder limit is an EU-wide approval route that caps each vehicle type at 1,500 cars a year.
Perspective Coverage
3 publishersReality
Bolt aims to put at least 25,000 driverless Lucids on European roads under a non-binding framework with no order and no date, while the only EU-wide approval route for a fully automated car allows 1,500 of a type a year.
Perspective Coverage
6 publishersReality
Pony.ai and Verne have taken the safety driver out of a 22km route in Zagreb and left the bookings inside Uber. The partners want more than 2,000 cars on European roads, and the union-wide small series path allows 1,500 a year.
Reality