Hyundai Motor and Waymo have agreed to a multiyear, strategic partnership that includes the self-driving company adding the South Korean automaker’s Ioniq 5 electric vehicle to its robotaxi fleet.
The companies said Friday that Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous technology, known as the Waymo Driver, will be integrated in a “significant volume over multiple years to support” the Alphabet-backed company’s growing robotaxi business.
It comes nearly two months after Waymo revealed details about its newest “generation 6” self-driving technology, which will be integrated into Geely Zeekr electric vehicles and should be able to handle a wider array of weather conditions without requiring as many costly cameras and sensors on board.
Waymo, which boasts around 700 vehicles in its fleet today, operates the only commercial robotaxi service in the U.S., Waymo One. It provides more than 100,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the U.S. today.
The Ioniq 5 EVs will be produced at Hyundai’s upcoming “Metaplant America” in Georgia and then equipped with Waymo’s self-driving technologies. The EVs will be delivered to Waymo with specific autonomous-ready modifications like redundant hardware and power doors.
Initial on-road testing with Waymo-enabled Ioniq 5s will begin by late 2025. They are expected to become available to Waymo One robotaxi riders in the years to follow, the companies said.
The companies declined to disclose financial terms of the partnership, but confirmed Waymo will purchase and own the vehicles.
Waymo has previously partnered with other auto brands such as Chrysler and Jaguar to produce and integrate its technologies into vehicles.
The Waymo-Ioniq 5 integration is the first stage of a partnership that could grow in the future, according to José Muñoz, Hyundai chief operating officer and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America.
“The team at our new manufacturing facility is ready to allocate a significant number of vehicles for the Waymo One fleet as it continues to expand,” Muñoz said in a statement. “Importantly, this is the first step in the partnership between the two companies and we are actively exploring additional opportunities for collaboration.”
The Ioniq 5 is already being used by autonomous vehicle startup Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and auto supplier Aptiv. Hyundai said the Waymo partnership “doesn’t influence” Motional.
— CNBC’s Jennifer Elias contributed to this report.