Trade Resources Company News FCA to Supply Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Minivans to Waymo's Self-Driving Service

FCA to Supply Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Minivans to Waymo's Self-Driving Service

FCA US has agreed to deliver Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to Waymo's driverless ride-hailing service.

Delivery of the vehicles is expected to take place later this year and they will be deployed across multiple cities in the US.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said: "In order to move quickly and efficiently in autonomy, it is essential to partner with like-minded technology leaders.

"Our partnership with Waymo continues to grow and strengthen; this represents the latest sign of our commitment to this technology."  

Previously, FCA delivered to Waymo, 100 Pacifica Hybrid minivans, customized for self-driving in the second half of 2016. Last year, an additional 500 were supplied.

FCA stated that its collaboration with Waymo has enabled in the design of self-driving vehicles that are being built on a mass production platform.

Waymo is expected to start is autonomous ride-hailing service to general public, later this year, starting in Phoenix.

FCA says that the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans are highly advanced vehicles that are equipped with Waymo's hardware suite, which runs its self-driving software.

The self-driving software is claimed to have completed more than 4 million miles in on-road testing and billions of miles in simulation.

Waymo CEO John Krafcik said: "With the world's first fleet of fully self-driving vehicles on the road, we've moved from research and development, to operations and deployment.

"The Pacifica Hybrid minivans offer a versatile interior and a comfortable ride experience, and these additional vehicles will help us scale."

Last November, Waymo started testing a fleet of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans on public roads without a driver at the wheel. This is said to have been a technical milestone and vehicle was the first one to attain Level 4 autonomy.

Source: http://design.automotive-business-review.com/news/fca-agrees-to-supply-thousands-of-chrysler-pacifica-hybrid-minivans-to-waymo-300118-6041029
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