INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Waymo next phase in self-driving cars has begun.
The former Google self-driving project that spun out to become a business under Alphabet
has received its first threeall-electric I-Pace crossover sport utility produced by Jaguar Land Rover.These I-Pace EVS — the first on U.S
roads outside of JLR own fleet — can be seen driving around the San Francisco Bay Area.
These aren&t operating autonomously just yet.For
now, Waymo is testing the vehicle performance on roads to generate self-driving system design requirements and developdurability tests, the
company told TechCrunch.
Waymo announced in March a strategic partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to develop a self-driving electric I-Pace
for a driverless transportation service.The plan is for the electric SUV to become part of Waymo driverless fleet beginning in
2020.
Ultimately, up to 20,000 modified I-Pace vehicles will join Waymo soon-to-be-launched driverless ride-hailing service in the first two
years of operation.
The Jaguar I-Pace SUVs are a piece of Waymo larger plan to build a self-driving system to be used in ride-hailing,
delivery and logistics such as trucking, connecting rides with public transit and licensing the technology with automakers
forpersonally-owned vehicles.
