Waymo, Hyundai Announce Partnership on Robotaxis
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Hyundai Motor Group and self-driving car company Waymo announced a new partnership to incorporate Georgia-made electric vehicles into the next generation of robotaxis.
The companies announced Oct. 4 that Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 EVs — which will be built at the automaker’s $7.6 billion Metaplant near Savannah — will be sold in a “significant volume over multiple years” to support Waymo’s robotaxi fleet. It’s the first large customer announced for the EV factory, which is Georgia’s largest economic development project.
The 2025 IONIQ 5 is the first vehicle Hyundai announced will be manufactured at the Metaplant, which is expected to begin production as soon as this month. Waymo, which has about 700 vehicles in its fleet today, will purchase an undisclosed number of the Georgia-made EVs, equipping them with the company’s self-driving technologies and incorporating specific autonomous-ready modifications. The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
José Muñoz, Hyundai Motor Group’s North American chief executive, said in a news release that the strategic partnership could grow in the future. Initial on-road testing with Waymo-enabled IONIQ 5s will begin in late 2025, then the vehicles will be poised to join Waymo One, the company’s commercial robotaxi service.
We’re excited to announce a new partnership with @Hyundai_Global to integrate our fully autonomous tech into Hyundai’s all-electric IONIQ 5 for our Waymo One fleet. https://t.co/RWYygXnuEk pic.twitter.com/gUDy5dtCdB — Waymo (@Waymo) October 4, 2024
Waymo One’s current fleet is made up of electric Jaguar I-PACE SUVs.
“The team at our new manufacturing facility is ready to allocate a significant number of vehicles for the Waymo One fleet as it continues to expand,” Muñoz said in a statement. “Importantly, this is the first step in the partnership between the two companies and we are actively exploring additional opportunities for collaboration.”
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Hyundai said the Waymo partnership will not influence its existing autonomous vehicle joint venture called Motional.
Waymo announced last month that Atlanta will soon join the short list of cities where Uber customers can request self-driving rides. Waymo already operates with self-driving cars giving rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, and the company will expand the service to Atlanta and Austin, Texas, in early 2025 by offering rides through the Uber app.
Motorists around Atlanta may have already seen Waymo vehicles in testing around town, with a sensor mounted on the roof of the vehicle.
