Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Waymo have expanded their autonomous driving technology partnership.
Waymo will now work exclusively with FCA as its preferred partner for the development and testing of class 1-3 light commercial vehicles for goods movement for commercial delivery customers, including Waymo Via.
The two companies will initially target integration of Waymo Driver into the Ram ProMaster van, a configurable platform that will enable access to a range of global commercial customers. This partnership will allow FCA and Waymo to determine how to effectively use autonomy to address the specific needs of commercial customers given the rapid growth of goods delivery services.
FCA also has selected Waymo as its exclusive strategic partner for L4 autonomous technology across the FCA fleet and has started to work with Waymo to imagine future FCA products for the movement of people and goods operated by Waymo Driver.
Mike Manley, CEO, FCA, said: “Our now four-year partnership with Waymo continues to break new ground. By incorporating Waymo Driver, the world’s leading self-driving technology, into our Pacifica minivans, we became the only partnership actually deploying fully autonomous technology in the real world, on public roads.
“With this next step, deepening our relationship with the very best technology partner in this space, we’re turning to the needs of our commercial customers by jointly enabling self-driving for light commercial vehicles, starting with the Ram ProMaster.
“Adding Waymo’s commitment to partner with us to deploy its L4 fully autonomous technology across our entire product portfolio, our partnership is setting the pace for the safe and sustainable mobility solutions that will help define the automotive world in the years and decades to come.”
FCA became Waymo’s first OEM partner in 2016. Since then, the two companies have worked to integrate Waymo Driver into FCA vehicles. This partnership has led to the first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service, including the offering of fully driverless service to riders, as well as driving in dozens of cities across diverse geographies and challenging weather conditions.
“FCA was our first OEM partner and we’ve come a long way together,” said John Krafcik, CEO, Waymo. “The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans were the first vehicles in our Waymo One fleet and, guided by Waymo Driver, have now safely and reliably driven more fully autonomous miles than any other vehicle on the planet.
“Today, we’re expanding our partnership with FCA with Waymo Driver as the exclusive L4 autonomy solution for this global automotive company. Together, we’ll introduce Waymo Driver throughout the FCA brand portfolio, opening up new frontiers for ride-hailing, commercial delivery and personal-use vehicles around the world.”
