According to Reuters, on October 4, Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announced a partnership with South Korean automaker Hyundai to expand its autonomous taxi fleet in the U.S. As part of this collaboration, Waymo will integrate Hyundai’s electric vehicles into its fleet, starting with the Hyundai IONIQ 5 SUV.
The IONIQ 5s equipped with Waymo’s autonomous driving technology will be assembled at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia, with road testing expected to begin by the end of 2025. Jose Munoz, Hyundai’s Global Chief Operating Officer, stated, “Our new manufacturing team is ready to provide a significant number of vehicles for the expanding Waymo One fleet. We are actively exploring further collaboration opportunities with Waymo.”
Currently, Waymo’s fleet includes Jaguar I-PACE models from Tata Motors and vehicles from the Chinese electric brand Zeekr, part of Geely Auto. A Waymo spokesperson confirmed that the partnership with Hyundai will not replace any of the existing vehicle platforms.
Waymo is the only company in the U.S. operating a commercial autonomous taxi service, with a fleet of around 700 vehicles. This year, Waymo opened its fully autonomous taxi service to consumers in San Francisco and is continuously expanding its operations in Phoenix, Arizona. The service has also extended to parts of the San Francisco Peninsula and Los Angeles.
In August, Waymo reported a doubling of its paid rides in just over three months, reaching 100,000 weekly trips, as the company broadened its service areas and allowed more riders to access its autonomous taxis.
Despite ongoing skepticism about autonomous vehicle technology, strict regulatory scrutiny, and federal investigations, Alphabet plans to invest $5 billion in Waymo over several years.
Other competitors in the autonomous taxi space include Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, which faced a significant traffic incident last year and is now looking to return to U.S. roads with safety drivers in its vehicles. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Zoox is testing its autonomous vehicles, which are designed without a steering wheel or pedals.