Turkish ride-hailing platform Marti has partnered with Chinese autonomous driving company CalmCar to test self-driving vehicles in Türkiye. The first CalmCar-equipped vehicle has arrived in the country, with closed-area testing in Istanbul to begin once permits are granted.
Marti operates ride-hailing services across 40 Turkish cities that represent about 90% of national GDP. The company describes this partnership as part of a multi-supplier strategy to identify which autonomous technologies work best in Türkiye.
Suzhou-based CalmCar, founded in 2016, develops driver assistance and level 4 autonomous software. The company operates robobus services in Chongqing and Chengdu and works with more than 30 vehicle makers, including nine of China's ten biggest automakers by 2024 sales. Türkiye represents CalmCar's first venture outside China.
Chen Wei, co-founder of CalmCar, stated: "We are pleased to work with Marti to explore the application of our autonomous driving technology in Türkiye. Our initial focus is on supporting closed-area testing, subject to obtaining the required permits, and evaluating the technology under local operating conditions."
Once testing permits are approved, Marti app users will be able to try the autonomous driving technology.