Waymo, the leading commercial robotaxi service in the U.S., has announced a new partnership with Hyundai Motors to add electric Ioniq 5 hatchbacks to its fleet next year. This move is part of Waymo’s expansion efforts and cost-saving initiatives. The Hyundai EVs will be manufactured at a new plant near Savannah, Georgia, and equipped with Waymo’s latest self-driving technology at facilities in Detroit and Phoenix. Although the financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed, the Ioniq 5’s base price of $42,000 is significantly lower than the previous model used by Waymo, the Jaguar I-PACE, which cost around $75,000.
Waymo’s goal of reducing costs is crucial for achieving profitability in its robotaxi service. With a fleet of over 1,000 Jaguar I-PACE SUVs, Waymo is seeking cost-effective alternatives to sustain its operations. The sixth-generation Waymo hardware used in the new Ioniq 5 vehicles promises reduced costs while offering enhanced capabilities in resolution, range, and compute power. Additionally, Waymo currently provides over 100,000 paid rides per week to Waymo One users in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and is expanding its services to Austin with plans for further expansion to Atlanta by 2025.
The partnership with Hyundai comes at a critical time for Waymo as it navigates challenges related to sourcing electric vans from Zeekr, a brand created by China’s Geely Automobile Holdings. Waymo is testing Zeekr models in the U.S., but faces increased costs due to a new 100% tariff on Chinese imported autos imposed by the Biden Administration. Despite these challenges, Waymo remains focused on its vision of deploying its technology across various platforms and form factors to create a versatile and scalable driver for different applications.
The deal with Hyundai is also beneficial for the automaker, which had previously invested over $1 billion in Motional, an autonomous tech company, with plans to launch a robotaxi service using Ioniq 5s. However, these plans were abandoned this year, and Motional’s founder and CEO Karl Iagnemma left the company last month. Waymo’s plans to begin testing the Ioniq 5s next year demonstrate the progress of this partnership and its potential impact on the autonomous vehicle industry. The collaboration between Waymo and Hyundai underscores the importance of strategic partnerships in driving innovation and growth in the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle market.
