ECARX and May Mobility have finalized a $750 million agreement for robotaxis, with the vehicles being manufactured outside of China to meet US regulations.

      TL;DRECARX, the automotive technology firm supported by Geely founder Li Shufu, has finalized a deal valued at around $750 million with May Mobility to provide thousands of specially designed robotaxi vehicles featuring tailored L4 computing and sensor systems. These vehicles will be produced outside of China to adhere to U.S. regulations regarding connected vehicles.

      ECARX, the automotive tech company backed by Geely's Li Shufu, has established a strategic framework agreement with May Mobility for the provision of thousands of autonomous-capable vehicles for the commercial fleet of the American robotaxi operator. This $750 million agreement pairs a Chinese-founded hardware supplier with one of the select U.S. robotaxi firms that have progressed beyond pilot programs to ongoing commercial operations, occurring at a time when U.S. authorities are tightening restrictions on the use of Chinese automotive technology on domestic roads.

      Details of the Agreement

      As part of the agreement, ECARX will produce vehicles purpose-built with custom Level 4 central computing platforms and comprehensive sensor suites specifically designed for autonomous ride-hailing. Manufacturing of the vehicles and their sensor systems will take place outside China, a strategic decision to comply with U.S. regulations concerning information and communications technology in connected vehicles. Deployments are anticipated to commence next year, with scaling targeted for 2028, aiming for a 50% reduction in per-vehicle autonomy hardware costs compared to current industry standards.

      This partnership signifies a change in the way robotaxi fleets are constructed. Instead of retrofitting current consumer vehicles with aftermarket autonomy stacks, as is common practice, ECARX and May Mobility will build vehicles from scratch with Level 4 hardware integrated during manufacturing. If successfully scaled, this method could eliminate the engineering overhead and reliability issues typically associated with added sensor arrays and computing modules.

      About ECARX

      Founded in 2017, ECARX is now headquartered in London and Singapore, employing more than 1,400 individuals across 13 global locations. The company went public on the Nasdaq in 2022 under the ticker ECX, with Li Shufu being its largest shareholder. Shufu is the billionaire founder of Geely, whose automotive holdings include Volvo Cars, Polestar, Lotus, and Zeekr. Ziyu Shen is the CEO of the company.

      ECARX primarily focuses on developing computing and software platforms for vehicles, including digital cockpit systems, connectivity modules, and central computing architectures that increasingly shape the driving experience. Geely has a history of collaborating with tech firms in the realm of autonomous driving, and ECARX represents the group’s belief that the in-vehicle computing hardware will grow to be as crucial as the engines and drivetrains that characterized previous automotive manufacturing eras.

      May Mobility's Commercial History

      Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, May Mobility has secured around $300 million in total funding, which includes a $105 million Series D investment led by NTT. The company has strategic partnerships with Toyota, Uber, Lyft, Grab, and NTT, and has successfully completed over 500,000 commercial autonomous rides in the United States and Japan.

      What sets May Mobility apart from many competitors is its operation of paid, publicly accessible autonomous services rather than merely conducting closed pilot programs. The company's autonomy system incorporates what it terms “in-situ AI,” which fuses deep learning with a dynamic world model and a real-time reasoning engine that adapts to local driving conditions. The ECARX partnership provides May Mobility with a dedicated vehicle platform designed around its autonomy stack, eliminating the need to adapt its software for vehicles initially designed for human drivers.

      Regulatory Context

      The most significant aspect of the deal—the decision to manufacture vehicles and sensors outside China—reflects the increasingly stringent regulatory environment regarding Chinese automotive technology in the U.S. The Commerce Department's information and communications technology and services (ICTS) regulations limit the import of connected vehicle hardware and software from adversarial nations, while the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 formalized additional restrictions on components of Chinese origin in vehicles operating on U.S. roads.

      ECARX's choice to arrange its supply chain to avoid Chinese manufacturing for this contract directly addresses these restrictions. Essentially, the company offers American clients access to Chinese-developed automotive computing expertise while ensuring that production occurs in compliance with U.S. regulations.

      This approach aligns with a broader trend in the automotive sector. Foreign manufacturers have increasingly partnered with Chinese tech firms due to the inability to develop competitive software and autonomous systems independently and have structured these collaborations creatively to remain viable in Western markets amidst the political climate.

      Competitive Landscape

      The ECARX-May Mobility agreement arrives in a robotaxi market that is both consolidating and growing. Waymo, the subsidiary of Alphabet, remains the leading U.S. operator and has collaborated with Zeekr, another Geely brand, on its next-generation Ojai robotaxi platform expected to launch in 2026. Wayve has raised $1.5 billion to expand its autonomous driving AI worldwide, with plans