TIER IV has been selected by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for a grant program supporting collaborative technology initiatives in the Global South, the company said. The program covers autonomous bus field operational tests in Saudi Arabia, where TIER IV aims to adapt driving technology with a track record in Japan to local conditions and to promote talent development initiatives that contribute to the local workforce.
Under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 strategy, the country has set a target of making 15 percent of public transportation autonomous by 2030, according to the company. In September 2025, TIER IV signed a memorandum of understanding with Elm, a developer of digital services and autonomous technologies.
The company will develop autonomous buses for Saudi Arabia together with a European automaker, integrating its autonomous driving system, with vehicles developed in Japan serving as a reference. It will adapt an autonomous driving system built on open-source technologies and AI models, training them with local data to suit the desert climate and right-hand traffic. Tests will begin in closed environments before expanding to public roads. TIER IV also plans to work with local partners and transportation operators to understand operational environments and regional transport needs, to collaborate with government authorities, and to run programs with educational institutions for talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through competitive events.
TIER IV says it has conducted autonomous driving field operational tests in more than 120 regions across Japan, as well as in the United Kingdom and Australia. It says systems must be adapted to the driving environments and traffic rules of each country and region, which requires substantial upfront investment for large-scale data collection and AI model training, and that such investments can be a significant burden for private companies and carry substantial commercialization risk.
