FCA and Waymo expand autonomous driving tech partnership to LCVs

FCA and Waymo announced that they have taken the next significant steps in the expansion of their successful autonomous driving technology partnership. Waymo will now work exclusively with FCA as its preferred partner for the development and testing of class 1-3 light commercial vehicles for goods movement for commercial delivery customers.

The two companies will initially target integration of the Waymo Driver into the Ram ProMaster van, a highly configurable platform that will enable access to a broad range of global commercial customers. This partnership will allow FCA and Waymo to leverage their respective strengths and competencies to determine how to effectively utilise autonomy to address the specific needs of commercial customers given the rapid growth of goods delivery services.

FCA also has selected Waymo as its exclusive, strategic partner for L4 autonomous technology across the FCA fleet, and has already started to work with Waymo to imagine future FCA products for the movement of people and goods operated by the Waymo Driver.  

Mike Manley, Chief Executive Officer, FCA said, “Our now four-year partnership with Waymo continues to break new ground. Incorporating the Waymo Driver, the world’s leading self-driving technology, into our Pacifica minivans, we became the only partnership actually deploying fully autonomous technology in the real world, on public roads. With this next step, deepening our relationship with the very best technology partner in this space, we’re turning to the needs of our commercial customers by jointly enabling self-driving for light commercial vehicles, starting with the Ram ProMaster” .

Manley explained that, “Adding Waymo’s commitment to partner with us to deploy its L4 fully autonomous technology across our entire product portfolio, our partnership is setting the pace for the safe and sustainable mobility solutions that will help define the automotive world in the years and decades to come.”

John Krafcik, Chief Executive Officer, Waymo added that, “FCA was our first OEM partner, and we’ve come a long way together. The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans were the first vehicles in our Waymo One fleet, and, guided by the Waymo Driver, have now safely and reliably driven more fully autonomous miles than any other vehicle on the planet. Today, we’re expanding our partnership with FCA with the Waymo Driver as the exclusive L4 autonomy solution for this global automotive company. Together, we’ll introduce the Waymo Driver throughout the FCA brand portfolio, opening up new frontiers for ride-hailing, commercial delivery, and personal-use vehicles around the world.”

FCA became Waymo’s first OEM partner in 2016. Since then, the two companies have worked closely to integrate the Waymo Driver into FCA vehicles, and have made self-driving history in the proven, capable, L4-ready Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan. This partnership has led to the first commercial autonomous ride-hailing service, including the offering of fully driverless service to riders, as well as driving in dozens of cities across diverse geographies and challenging weather conditions.