Holon makes it official: It will build autonomous vehicles in Jax (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — A German manufacturer of autonomous, electric shuttles officially announced its intention to build a production center in Jacksonville.
Previously referred to as Project Link, Holon made an announcement Wednesday that it is the company that will have an approximately 500,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville, with completion expected in 2026. The developer for the project is VanTrust Real Estate.
Previously, Holon’s U.S. general manager, Gregory Crandell, confirmed that the company was looking at Jacksonville as a potential site for production. City Council approved $7.5 million in incentives for the project.
“Today marks a significant milestone in the journey of our mover project,” Henning von Watzdorf, CEO of Holon said. “With openness and a supportive regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles, the U.S. offers an ideal environment for Holon’s industrial initiatives, and Jacksonville has demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm for our vision from the beginning, making the city a national leader in the deployment of autonomous transit.”
Holon’s mover, a fully electric and autonomous vehicle, is designed to excel in public road use by setting new benchmarks in safety, ride comfort and production quality, the company said.
The mover is being developed in close collaboration with authorities to ensure it complies with relevant federal requirements, including Buy America and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, upon deployment. It has a top speed of 37 mph and a capacity for up to 15 passengers.
Petr Marijczuk, COO of Holon, said the Jacksonville plant will produce approximately 5,000 autonomous movers annually.
Prototypes of the mover will be available later this year, with the first vehicles set to be deployed in pilot projects by early 2026. The company will target municipalities, private operators, and institutions such as airports, campuses, planned communities, health care facilities and national parks.
Secretary of the Florida Department of Commerce J. Alex Kelly and Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan expressed strong support for the initiative at a press conference.
“Jacksonville is poised to be an industry leader in the technology behind AI-driven transportation. The addition of autonomous vehicle manufacturing is another big step towards that goal,” Deegan said. “It complements the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s innovative work in this space and the University of Florida‘s downtown campus that will offer artificial intelligence degrees in the future. We welcome the jobs, expertise and global recognition that Holon will bring to Jacksonville.”
Holon’s mover will be made available in the U.S. through Benteler Mobility in collaboration with Beep Inc., a provider of autonomous shared mobility solutions. Benteler Mobility will offer comprehensive services for the purchase and implementation of these vehicles, while Beep, an Orlando-based company, will provide the services and software to deploy, manage and operate the autonomous vehicles.
“The future of transportation hinges on the integration of these purpose-built autonomous, electric shuttles into our mobility networks,” said Joe Moye, CEO of Beep. It will play a key role in reducing congestion, eliminating carbon emissions and improving safety on our roadways.”
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority continues to test autonomous vehicle technology through pilot programs at Florida State College of Jacksonville, in the Brooklyn neighborhood and other areas across the region. Building on learnings from these projects, JTA is on track to launch the first phase of its Ultimate Urban Circulator, a comprehensive program to modernize and expand the Skyway in Jacksonville and introduce autonomous vehicles into JTA’s transportation system next summer.