UPDATE 1-German auto supplier seeks US nod to deploy autonomous buses on US roads

(Adds more details, background in paragraphs 4-9)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - A subsidiary of a German auto supplier has asked U.S. auto safety regulators for approval to deploy up to 2,500 autonomous electric buses annually that are operated without steering wheels and other human controls, a U.S. agency said Thursday.

HOLON, a unit of German automotive supplier Benteler Group, asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for an exemption from federal auto safety standards for its automated electric bus that does not have pedals, manual turn signals or mirrors needed by a human driver.

NHTSA said it will accept public comments on the petition until early January.

The petition, which will not see final action before President Donald Trump takes office, could shed light on how the new administration approaches self-driving vehicles. NHTSA has taken a cautious approach in recent years.

HOLON said the vehicle's autonomous driving system was collaboratively developed by HOLON and Mobileye .

In July, General Motors' Cruise self-driving unit said it would abandon plans to deploy its self-driving Origin vehicle that would not have a steering wheel. Ford last year abandoned a similar petition.

In 2022, GM filed a petition with NHTSA seeking permission to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving Origin vehicles annually without human controls such as brake pedals or mirrors. NHTSA never acted on the request and GM cited regulatory risks for its decision to abandon the Origin.

GM will instead use a conventional next-generation Bolt EV as the platform for its Cruise robotaxi, a move that will not require permission of NHTSA.

HOLON said in September it plans to assemble 5,000 vehicles per year at a 500,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville, Florida, expected to be completed in 2026.

In February 2020, NHTSA gave a first of its kind approval after three years of talks to U.S. robotics company Nuro to deploy up to 5,000 low-speed electric delivery vehicles without human controls.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum)

((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))