Self-Driving Busmaker to Open Michigan Plant

France’s Navya Technologies plans to open a manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan this year for its Arma self-driving shuttle buses.

The 3-year-old company expects to build 20 of the buses at the facility by year-end and as many as 100 there next year. About 15 people will be employed at the Michigan factory, which will be located near Ann Arbor and serve as Navya’s U.S. headquarters

The company has been using the Arma bus to shuttle visitors around the University of Michigan’s Mcity research center in Ann Arbor since late last year. Navya also is testing the vehicle in France, Singapore and Switzerland.

The electric bus, which was unveiled in 2015, can carry 15 people (11 sitting and four standing). The vehicle has no steering wheel or foot pedals. It uses lidar, stereo cameras and global positioning sensors to map and navigate its surroundings at speeds below 30 mph.