Waymo announced today an OEM partnership with Geely, a Chinese automaker. Waymo is the first and only fully autonomous taxi service in the United States. Since introducing the service a year ago in Phoenix, it has driven thousands of individuals.
Waymo’s cooperation with Zeekr will help the company develop its driverless ride-hailing service in the face of increased competition, as well as give Chinese automaker Geely a foothold in the American market.
“Plenty of headroom, legroom, and reclining seats,” as well as “screens and chargers within arm’s reach, and an easy to customise and comfortable vehicle cabin,” are among the other design aims. The major sensor stack is on the roof, with secondary units on the periphery, according to today’s renders.
The ideal “one day” version of this car would have no steering wheel or pedals, instead relying solely on a centred touchscreen in the front, however such design would almost certainly necessitate regulatory changes: Our Waymo One riders will one day experience an interior without a steering wheel or pedals, while maintaining a degree of safety compatible with U.S. federal vehicle regulations…
Geely Holding announced that its premium electric mobility brand, Zeekr, will produce electric vehicles for Waymo, Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) self-driving business, which will be used as fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicles across the United States.
According to Geely, the vehicles will be conceived and developed in Zeekr’s factory in Sweden before being merged with Waymo’s self-driving technology.
Waymo stated that the vehicles would be introduced to U.S. roadways “in the years to come.”
Waymo released concept pictures on Tuesday that depict a large, low-to-the-ground minivan with seating for around five people and a single entryway on each side.
Today, Waymo simply states that this futuristic electric vehicle will be available on US roads “in the coming years.”
