Hyundai Motor introduced Friday that it has entered a multi-year, strategic partnership with Google’s autonomous driving expertise subsidiary Waymo because the Korean automaker seems to be to bolster its newly established autonomous automobile foundry enterprise.
In response to the announcement, the 2 sides will work collectively to combine Waymo’s sixth-generation totally autonomous expertise into Hyundai’s all-electric sports activities utility automobile Ioniq 5.
The Ioniq 5s headed for the Waymo fleet can be rolled out on the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, the automaker’s first devoted EV mass manufacturing plant, which is predicted to start manufacturing within the fourth quarter of this 12 months.
“Hyundai and Waymo share a imaginative and prescient to enhance the security, effectivity and comfort of how individuals transfer,” mentioned Jose Munoz, international chief working officer of Hyundai Motor Firm.
“Waymo’s transformational expertise is enhancing street security the place they function, and the Ioniq 5 is the perfect automobile to scale this additional. The workforce at our new manufacturing facility is able to allocate a major variety of automobiles for the Waymo One fleet because it continues to develop,” he mentioned.
Munoz added that the 2 corporations are actively exploring extra alternatives for collaboration.
The 2 sides mentioned they plan to provide Ioniq 5s geared up with Waymo’s self-driving expertise in vital quantity over a number of years to again up Waymo’s rising scale with out mentioning particular figures. The preliminary on-road testing of Ioniq 5s that includes Waymo’s expertise will start by late 2025 and the EV can be out there to Waymo prospects within the following years.
“We not too long ago introduced the launch of Hyundai Motor Firm’s autonomous automobile foundry enterprise to supply international autonomous driving corporations with automobiles able to implementing (Society of Automotive Engineers) Stage 4 or greater autonomous driving expertise,” mentioned Track Chang-hyeon, president and head of Hyundai Motor Group’s Superior Car Platform Division.
“There isn’t a higher associate for our first settlement on this initiative than trade chief Waymo.”
Waymo operates about 700 driverless taxis in america because the nation’s solely business firm within the robotaxi sector.
“We’re thrilled to associate with Hyundai as we additional our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver,” mentioned Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo.
“Hyundai’s give attention to sustainability and powerful electrical automobile street map makes them an important associate for us as we convey our totally autonomous service to extra riders in additional locations.”
