Waymo and Fiat Chrysler announced today that they will be codeveloping self-driving commercial vehicles. The autonomous driving technology company, which is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc, will integrate its AI-powered self-driving technology into the Italian-American company’s Ram ProMaster van.
The deal primarily focuses on equipping light commercial vehicles with Waymo Driver technology. Light commercial vehicles include large pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and delivery vans.
In a separate deal, Waymo arranged to have its technology power Fiat Chrysler’s Level 4 autonomous vehicles on a global scale. The deal applies to cars and trucks that are fully autonomous and do not require a driver to operate.
Fiat Chrysler and Waymo have a long history of collaboration. The companies partnered together in 2016 when Chrysler supplied Pacifica hybrid minivans for the autonomous vehicle company’s testing fleet.
In a blog post today, Waymo CEO John Krafcik stated, “FCA was our first OEM partner, and we’ve come a long way together. The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans were the first vehicles in our Waymo One fleet, and, guided by the 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 the Waymo Driver as the exclusive L4 autonomy solution for this global automotive company. Together, we’ll introduce the Waymo Driver throughout the FCA brand portfolio, opening up new frontiers for ride-hailing, commercial delivery, and personal-use vehicles around the world.”
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley remarked, “Our now four-year partnership with Waymo continues to break new ground. Incorporating the 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.”
More information on the partnership can be found at waymo.com.
