Waymo in talks with Hyundai Motor to produce self-driving taxis, media report says By Reuters
SEOUL (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Waymo is in talks with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co to outsource the manufacturing of its self-driving vehicles, South Korea’s Electronic Times reported.
Waymo and Hyundai Motor officials have met more than three times to discuss a plan to use Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 electric vehicles in Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving technology, the report said, adding that the vehicles would replace offerings from Chinese company Zeekr, which Waymo is currently testing.
The report comes as President Joe Biden’s administration last week imposed significant tariff increases on Chinese imports, including a 100% tariff on electric vehicles, which will take effect on September 27.
In response to the media report, Waymo said in a statement to Reuters: “We will decline to comment on speculation, but I can share that we are working diligently to validate the sixth generation of Waymo Driver on the Zeekr platform and intend to introduce it to our fleet when it is ready.”
“Nothing has been decided at this stage regarding new businesses,” Hyundai Motor Group said, referring to its plan to sell its vehicle platform to self-driving technology companies.
Motional, Hyundai Motor Group’s autonomous driving technology unit, earlier this year postponed its plans to launch a robotaxi service with the next-generation Hyundai Ioniq 5 until 2026, laying off hundreds of workers in the United States, TechCrunch reported in May.
Waymo has purchased vehicles from Stellantis (NYSE:) and Jaguar Land Rover and integrated their technology into core vehicles to offer self-driving ride-hailing services in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Waymo is also testing vehicles from Zeekr equipped with its next-generation technology. Zeekr is an electric vehicle brand of China’s Geely Automobile Holdings (OTC:).
Alphabet said in July it plans to invest $5 billion in Waymo over several years as the company expands its self-driving ride-hailing service.
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