Waymo Orders 62,000 Chrysler Pacifica Minivans To Greatly Expand Self-Driving Program

Fiat Chrysler has announced that it has expanded its partnership with Waymo. The new deal will see Waymo acquiring an additional 62,000 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans for its autonomous fleet. Chrysler was mum on just how many of the vans Waymo was getting when the last deal was announced at the beginning of the year. At that time, all Waymo and FCA had said was that the deal was for “thousands” of minivans. FCA has delivered 600 Pacifica Hybrid minivans to Waymo to date.

FCA has also confirmed that the two companies are at the beginning of discussions about using Waymo’s self-driving tech in FCA passenger vehicles for retail customers. The two companies said that would potentially be a licensing deal.

“FCA is committed to bringing self-driving technology to our customers in a manner that is safe, efficient and realistic,” said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. “Strategic partnerships, such as the one we have with Waymo, will help to drive innovative technology to the forefront.”

FCA has also stated that Waymo plans to launch the first self-driving transportation service to allow the public to call a Waymo autonomous vehicle for a ride via an app later this year. 

“Waymo's goal from day one has been to build the world’s most experienced driver and give people access to self-driving technology that will make our roads safer,” said John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo. “We're excited to deepen our relationship with FCA that will support the launch of our driverless service, and explore future products that support Waymo's mission.”