Waymo announced that it will be partnering up with Jaguar Land Rover over a year ago, in a move that took some by surprise. Waymo said that it would add the company’s all-electric I-Pace crossover to their fleet of autonomous vehicles and by the looks of it, introducing it has, so far, been a success.
“While we’ve been focused at Waymo on building the world’s most experienced driver, the team at Jaguar Land Rover has developed an all-new battery-electric platform that looks to set a new standard in safety, design and capability.” Waymo Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik said in a joint press release with Jaguar last year, when the partnership was announced “We’re sure Waymo riders will enjoy the safe, premium and delightful experience that the self-driving I-PACE will provide.”
Waymo will now be testing the Jaguar I-Pace on the public streets around the company’s headquarters in Mountain View California. The car will feature a safety driver behind the wheel for now. But this is just the first time Waymo confirmed that the testing has begun.
The company actually received three I-Paces in July of 2018 and has been driving them around the San Francisco Bay Area, though not autonomously.
The partnership between Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover will see up to 20,000 modified I-Pace vehicles joining the autonomous vehicle fleet during the first two years it will be operational. Jaguar expects the I-Paces in question to serve a potential of one million trips per day.
Waymo has previously been testing autonomous Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans on public roads in the states of Arizona and California.
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