Hyundai Motor and Waymo have agreed to a multi-year strategic partnership that includes the self-driving company adding the Korean automaker’s Ioniq 5 electric vehicle to its robotaxi fleet.
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modern car and Waymo have agreed to a multi-year strategic partnership that includes the self-driving company adding the Korean automaker’s Ioniq 5 electric vehicle to its robotaxi fleet.
The companies said Friday that Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving technology, called Waymo Driver, will be “significantly integrated over multiple years to support” letter-Support the company’s growing robotaxi business.
Nearly two months ago, Waymo unveiled details of its latest “sixth generation” self-driving technology, which will be integrated into Geely’s Zeekr electric car and should be able to handle a wider range of weather conditions without requiring as many expensive cameras and sensors on board.
Waymo currently has about 700 vehicles and operates Waymo One, the only commercial robotaxi service in the United States. Today, it provides more than 100,000 paid robo-taxi rides each week in the United States.
The Ioniq 5 electric car will be produced at Hyundai’s upcoming Metaplant America in Georgia and equipped with Waymo’s self-driving technology. The electric vehicles will be delivered to Waymo with specific self-driving modifications, such as redundant hardware and power doors.
Initial road testing of Waymo-powered Ioniq 5 will begin in late 2025.
The companies declined to disclose the financial terms of the partnership but confirmed that Waymo will purchase and own the vehicles.
Waymo has previously partnered with other car brands, including Chrysler and Jaguar, to produce its technology and integrate it into vehicles.
José Muñoz, Hyundai’s chief operating officer and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, said the Waymo-Ioniq 5 integration is the first phase of the partnership and may develop further in the future.
“As the Waymo One fleet continues to expand, the team at our new manufacturing facility is ready to allocate a large number of vehicles to it,” Munoz said in a statement. “Importantly, this is the first time the two companies have partnered. We are actively exploring more cooperation opportunities.”
The Ioniq 5 is already being used by self-driving car startup Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and auto suppliers Aptiv. Hyundai Motor said its partnership with Waymo “will not affect” Motion.
— CNBC’s Jennifer Elias contributed to this report.
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