Uber on Wednesday unveiled a prototype vehicle designed to collect real-world driving data for its expanding network of autonomous vehicle partners, including Avride, Waymo, and WeRide.

The car itself is not a radical redesign. It is a Hyundai Ioniq 5 fitted with an extensive array of sensors mounted across its roof and body.

While the sensor-equipped EV may not appear revolutionary at first glance, it marks several key milestones for Uber.

It is the first vehicle Uber has assembled, working with a partner—since it sold its autonomous vehicle unit to Aurora in 2020.

It also signals early progress from Uber’s new AV Labs division, launched this year to deploy sensor-equipped vehicles that gather and share data with more than 30 autonomous driving technology partners.

Uber said it plans to deploy 500 of the modified Hyundai EVs globally this year.

The fleet is expected to generate around 2 million miles of high-fidelity robotaxi training data per month, with about 50 vehicles expected to be on the road by summer.

If successful, the data will provide partners with a 360-degree, time-synchronised, stitched view of driving environments to help train and improve self-driving systems.

Uber’s AV Labs is currently analysing initial data streams while preparing to scale up collection further through additional modified Ioniq 5 vehicles operated with its fleet partners.