Amazon’s Zoox Seeks NHTSA’s Temporary Exemption From Several Autonomous Vehicle Safety Standards

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated on Wednesday that it has received an application from Amazon.com’s (AMZN) autonomous-vehicle subsidiary Zoox for a temporary exemption from several Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards applicable to its passenger car equipped with an automated driving system.

The NHTSA stated that it is reviewing Zoox’s application and will publish a subsequent notice seeking public comment on its merits after conducting its initial review.

Retail sentiment on Amazon remained unchanged in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘extremely high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits. Shares of the e-commerce giant were up marginally in early trading on Wednesday.

According to a Bloomberg News report, the exemption that Zoox is seeking from the NHTSA would allow it to operate as many as 2,500 self-driving cars on U.S. roads. In August, the NHTSA granted an exemption to Zoox vehicles, allowing them to be used for demonstration purposes, and closed an investigation into whether they complied with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

The NHTSA had opened an investigation into Zoox after the company claimed in 2022 that it had certified its purpose-built robotaxi vehicles as compliant with all FMVSS.

Bloomberg said that the company’s new request seeks exemptions from standards relating to features such as windshield wipers, defogging systems, and occupant crash protection equipment.

Shares of Amazon rose nearly 1% this year and have gained almost 15% in the last 12 months. 

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