Waymo and Hyundai Announce Partnership

Waymo is going from strength to strength. Following the massive increase of the robotaxi fleet in San Francisco, the increase in driverless and paid rides from 50,000 per week in May 2024 to 100,000 per week in September 2024, partnerships with Uber, expansion into cities such as Los Angeles, Austin and now Atlanta, the appearance of major advertising campaigns in San Francisco and statements about how Waymo could come to Europe, Waymo is now following up.

The rumors that Waymo was working on a partnership with Hyundai were confirmed by a press release. Waymo will use the battery-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 as another vehicle platform for the Waymo Driver. Road tests are scheduled to begin at the end of 2025 and Hyundai is guaranteeing production of the Ioniq 5 for several years.

This announcement comes after doubts about the profitability of vehicles from the Chinese company Zeekr, which could become too expensive due to planned punitive tariffs in the USA.

This article was also published in German.