Last January, Waymo struck a deal with Fiat Chrysler to buy thousands of additional Pacifica Hybrid minivans, though it wasn"t known at the time how many car units were involved in the purchase agreement. The Italian-American automobile company has revealed today that it is adding up to 62,000 Pacifica minivans to Waymo’s fleet of autonomous vehicles as part of an expanded partnership.
The additional Chrysler Pacifica minivans will bolster the Alphabet company"s self-driving fleet, which currently has 600 Pacifica units. Delivery of the minivans will commence later this year, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US (FCA) said in a press release. The two companies are also in talks over the prospect of licensing Waymo"s self-driving technology to FCA"s future retail vehicles.
Waymo plans to launch the world"s first autonomous transportation service for public use later this year, marking an end to the testing phase for the Chrysler Pacifica minivans that began early last year in the streets of Mountain View, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. FCA"s partnership with Waymo kicked off in May 2016, after which the first 100 minivans were delivered to the autonomous car development company. Last year, FCA added 500 more minivans to Waymo"s fleet.