Waymo Partners with Geely for Electric Ride-Hailing Vehicle
Waymo has announced a collaboration with Geely to use a version of the company’s Zeekr vehicle as the host for Waymo’s sustainable, autonomous ride-hailing program, the Waymo Driver, according to a press release.
The vehicle, which is different from the Geely Zeekr unveiled earlier this year at Auto Shanghai and was designed in Sweden, features dual-sliding doors on either side of the vehicle, with a total of five seats inside.
In addition, Waymo detailed its plans to offer the autonomous vehicle and its Waymo One program into the transportation-as-a-service (TAAS) network of ride-hailing programs, offering safety consistent with federal standards.
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While it doesn’t say when the vehicles will be officially deployed, Waymo also said in the press release that it will “begin to introduce these all-electric, rider-first, fully autonomous vehicles on U.S. roads within our Waymo One fleet in the years to come.”
Earlier this month, Stellantis announced plans to reveal a Level 3 autonomous driving by 2024 in upcoming BMWs, as well as Level 4 and 5 autonomy through the use of Waymo’s self-driving tech.
In August, Waymo launched a “trusted tester” program for autonomous ride-hailing in San Francisco, just months after the Waymo CEO stepped down and took a new role as an adviser.