County council "opened doors" for groundbreaking autonomous vehicle business

A company which relocated to Warwickshire from Argentina has received a grant from the Coventry & Warwickshire Innovation Programme to develop its latest self-driving autonomous vehicle.

Baro Vehicles, based at Mira Industrial Park in Nuneaton, design and produce connected and autonomous compact vehicles and have now received funding support to further develop their groundbreaking project, Baro One.

Baro One is a compact vehicle specifically designed to transport people in private spaces such as university campuses, business parks and golf courses. Using sophisticated engineering, it offers unprecedented levels of technology, comfort and design.

The new product will be the first of its kind to enter the market and sets out to transform conventional ideas about how to drive a car by replacing the steering wheel with a joystick.

Baro have developed their own artificial intelligence software that allows the vehicle to learn from experiences which it can apply to the next journey. 

The Coventry & Warwickshire Innovation Programme grant will be used to produce 10 prototypes for testing and developing. It will also help source the external expertise needed to complete the company's human interface machine. 

Baro was introduced to the programme by Warwickshire County Council inward investment officer Stephanie Williams who encouraged and advised the company's relocation and investment into the UK from Argentina.

Throughout the application process, Baro have been supported by Warwickshire County Council and the Department for International Trade.

Baro chief executive Gabriel Giani Moreno said: "On behalf of the whole team at Baro Vehicles, I send a big thank you to the team at Warwickshire County Council for believing in us and giving us great support.

"By building a self-driving vehicle, we are being part of the history of the pioneers in this field and we are here because when we arrived in this incredible country, the county council opened all the doors and encouraged us. They told us 'Do what you know how to do' - and here we are, working hard to achieve it.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Innovation Programme, partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund, supports local SMEs to develop innovative products or services that will be new to the market.

Companies looking to innovate are urged to speak with a representative from the C&W Innovation Programme and can obtain more information by contacting Kai Cott at kaicott@warwickshire.gov.uk.