Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2022 (Revised December 2022)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Navya: Steering Toward a Driverless Future

By: Julian De Freitas, Elie Ofek, Shaun Ingledew and Tonia Labruyere
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:28
ShareBar

Abstract

In 2022, Sophie Desormière arrived at French roboshuttle producer Navya, tasked with charting a new course in a challenging sector. The company, which had recently listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, was burning through cash reserves and needed to transform the promise of its technology into a credible business with a solid revenue stream. In the short term, Desormière had to decide whether, and if so under what pricing terms, to accept an opportunity that recently emerged in the U.S. However, the opportunity involved renting, rather than selling, and also required Navya to operate the service. In the medium term, the company had to navigate questions on whether to concentrate on the software technology that enabled driverless mobility or continue to juggle the hardware side of the business at the same time. Furthermore, questions remained around which market was best suited for Navya’s product, and which would be ready with the right regulatory environment to turn promising use-cases into mass transit solutions when the technology allowed getting rid of the on board attendant; at that point Navya might consider re-pricing is AV technology. The form factors Navya should focus on was also hotly debated. Some questioned whether the required regulation and consumer buy-in would come too late for Navya, and whether they should therefore switch the business model to transport goods rather than people. Desormière would need to address all these issues, if the business was to arrive at its intended destination.

Keywords

Autonomous Vehicles; Market Entry and Exit; Opportunities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Consumer Behavior; Business Model; Auto Industry; Transportation Industry; France; United States

Citation

De Freitas, Julian, Elie Ofek, Shaun Ingledew, and Tonia Labruyere. "Navya: Steering Toward a Driverless Future." Harvard Business School Case 523-046, September 2022. (Revised December 2022.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Authors

Julian De Freitas

Marketing
→More Publications

Elie Ofek

Marketing
→More Publications

Related Work

    • September 2022 (Revised December 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Navya: Steering Toward a Driverless Future

    By: Julian De Freitas, Elie Ofek, Shaun Ingledew and Tonia Labruyere
Related Work
  • Navya: Steering Toward a Driverless Future By: Julian De Freitas, Elie Ofek, Shaun Ingledew and Tonia Labruyere
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College