Why robo-taxis are built on EV platforms & why it matters
- Ben Birnbaum
- Aug 22
- 4 min read
As robo-taxis expand across the US and globally, one aspect worth paying attention to is that autonomous passenger vehicles are overwhelmingly electric vehicles. This article will cover why, examples, and "so what".
See in the chart below a growth projection from Bloomberg of self-driving vehicles. It's a few months old and there have been countless announcements since then, so it will be fun to see how next year's compares.
The dark green (not quite Eagles color, but go Birds) is battery electric vehicles. Grey is combustion engine. You have to zoom in pretty damn close to see any gray, or really anything but dark green on the chart.
If you take battery electric vehicles out of the analysis, you can see the paltry volumes of hybrids, combustion engine, and hydrogen.
There are a bunch of examples and reasons why AV platforms are generally built on EV platforms, listed below, but the "so what" is that electric autonomous vehicles need to charge somewhere (a "hub") - like this one pictured of TeraWatt's below:
Charging hubs use 5-10mw or more of power. It's still an early market so we may see even bigger hubs as things pick up.
I asked ChatGPT to give me examples of things that use more than 10mw of power to help illustrate the gravity of that:
Data centers (obviously) – A hall with tens of thousands of servers
Steel or aluminum smelting equipment – A single arc furnace or electrolytic cell bank can draw 5–20 MW.
Municipal water treatment plant – A facility pumping and processing water for a city may consume ~10 MW.
College campus – A small city of ~10,000–15,000 homes, or a large university campus, typically has a peak demand around 10 MW.
Sports stadium – During a night game with lights, HVAC, kitchens, and broadcast gear, total power draw can approach 10 MW.
Examples of AVs being built on EVs
Nearly every major AV program has been built on top of an EV platform
In some cases there have been self driving prototypes (i.e. Waymo - Chrysler Pacifica, May Mobility - Toyota Sienna) built on ICE vehicles, however, the worlds leading AV companies have switched or seem to have a clear goal to transition to a scalable EV platforms.
Why are AVs often EVs?
Technical Advantages
Power Demands of Autonomous Systems
AVs require an enormous amount of onboard computing power to process data from cameras, lidar, radar, and high-resolution maps.
These compute systems often consume orders of magnitude more than a typical infotainment system in a conventional car.
EV platforms provide large, stable, high-voltage batteries that can reliably power both the drivetrain and the autonomy stack without straining the system.
Predictable Powertrain Behavior
Electric motors provide smooth, instant torque with high controllability. That makes them easier to model and predict in the control software that governs AV decision-making.
ICE drivetrains, with their shifting gears, turbo lag, and vibration, introduce more variability—complicating autonomy algorithms.
Simplified Vehicle Architecture
EVs have fewer moving parts than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
This simplicity makes it easier to integrate sensors, redundant drive-by-wire systems, and other autonomy-specific hardware. AV sensors often require specific placements for optimal coverage—such as roof-mounted lidar, bumper-integrated radar, or side-panel cameras.
EV “skateboard” chassis designs allow engineers more freedom to package these components without conflicting with engine blocks, exhaust systems, or transmission tunnels. For example, software-defined braking and steering are much easier to implement when the baseline platform already supports electronic actuation.
Business Advantages
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Advantages
For companies operating AV fleets, the lifetime economics matter more than the sticker price. EVs, with fewer maintenance needs and longer asset life, provide better total cost of ownership.
Most AV use cases—like robotaxis, delivery fleets, and logistics—depend on low per-mile operating costs.
EVs outperform ICE vehicles here: electricity is cheaper than gasoline, EVs require less maintenance, and regenerative braking reduces wear on components. That’s critical for fleet economics. That improves margins and accelerates payback periods for AV operators.
Aligned Industry Roadmaps
The auto industry is already investing heavily in EV platforms to meet emissions targets and consumer demand.
By building AVs on EVs, companies can leverage these investments rather than creating bespoke ICE platforms that are facing obsolescence risk.
Lower maintenance, higher uptime
This is the other side of simplified vehicle arcitecture. EVs have fewer moving parts, so there are fewer things to fix and less often
This is critical for a robotaxi fleet - where uptime is directly ties to profitability
Urban Policy
Cities are increasingly pushing for cleaner mobility solutions. An AV fleet powered by EVs is more likely to win regulatory approval, public trust, and access to zero-emission zones.
Conversely, rolling out AV fleets that burn fossil fuels would face political and reputational hurdles.
Brand
Most companies working on AVs are positioning themselves as future-forward, sustainable, and climate-conscious
Climate orientation may not be the popular thing to market at the moment, but things like Urban Heat Island Effect are real, and no one wants to be buried in particulates from exhaust pipes.
Autonomous vehicles are not unique in "physical AI" requiring a significant amount of power to operate, just one of the more advanced ones. Expect similarities when you double click on any robot category.
More on that soon...
