Waymo, Jaguar Land Rover form autonomous driving partnership

The I-Pace is the latest offering, following the now-defunct Firefly prototype, the outgoing Lexus RX, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, and the self-driving semi-truck.

Waymo has teamed up with Jaguar for its next robotaxi.

Waymo will be using these cars to develop a ride-hailing service that will compete with the likes of Uber and Lyft, both of which are pursuing driverless technology. Lexus SUVs were the initial testbeds for Waymo’s technology, which will be retired soon.

Waymo vehicle rides open up to the public in Arizona at the end of 2018, but the new Jaguar won’t be ready to join the fleet by then.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Waymo CEO John Krafcik said he’s confident that their technology would not have hit 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg earlier this month. Yes, Jaguar now has access to far more driverless tech than before – but Waymo has now unlocked a thousands strong fleet of EVs, and with that miles and miles of data and experience.

Waymo Jaguar I-Pace cars equipped with Waymo’s self-driving technology will start testing later this year.

The two companies expect the electric SUV to be part of the full Waymo fleet in 2020.

First testing of the autonomous I-Pace will take place in Phoenix.

If Waymo succeeds, it will supplant General Motors, which hopes to produce a paltry 2,500 of its Cruise AV, its production-ready vehicle that features no steering wheel or pedals. He emphasized the partnership as a way for Jaguar to embrace new forms of transportation while preserving the thrill of driving that attracts new auto buyers. Waymo says the 20,000 I-Pace models will provide up to 1m rides per day. He also reiterated that the company’s self-driving vehicles were the safest ones on the roads and they’re working hard to prepare its cars for the challenges of real roads.

A self-driving vehicle from Uber Technologies Inc. hit and killed a pedestrian last week, which stunned the industry and kicked off a debate about the technology’s capabilities on open roads.

With 400PS and 696Nm of torque, I-PACE offers acceleration from 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds, allowing Elgort to prove that his driving skill was more than a camera trick.