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Waymo Needs Six Divisions of Chrysler Pacifica Minivans to Invade the U.S.

Back in January, Waymo and Chrysler announced they signed an agreement that would make the Pacifica Hybrid minivan the main workhorse of the fleet of autonomous cars that would flood the U.S. in the coming years.
Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid 6 photos
Photo: FCA
Waymo Chrysler Pacifica HybridWaymo Chrysler Pacifica HybridWaymo Chrysler Pacifica HybridWaymo Chrysler Pacifica HybridWaymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
The scope of the deal was not entirely known. Before the agreement, 600 such vehicles from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) had already been delivered. Only now, the company formerly known as Google's self-driving car project blew the lid on the order that is 100 times bigger than the current fleet.

In a statement released on Thursday, FCA says an additional 62,000 minivans are become driverless cars on the streets of America. Furthermore, the two companies would also work on possibilities that Waymo’s technologies could be used in a new vehicle that might be sold by FCA.

“FCA is committed to bringing self-driving technology to our customers in a manner that is safe, efficient and realistic,” said Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO.

“Strategic partnerships, such as the one we have with Waymo, will help to drive innovative technology to the forefront.”

It's not clear what Marchionne means by realistic. For now, only California allows test driving of fully autonomous cars on its roads and not one state allows their use by individuals on public roads. Huge as it is, this order depends on too many unknowns at the moment to start bragging about it.

The announcement of this gargantuan agrrement comes only two months after Waymo negotiated with Jaguar the delivery of up to 20,000 I-Pace electric SUVs for the same purpose. Both Jaguar and Chrysler are to begin delivery of their vehicles to Waymo by the end of this year.

Although it’s very hard to know exactly which car rental company is the biggest in the world regarding cars owned, having nearly 100,000 vehicles on the roads in the U.S. alone would surely put Waymo at the top of the pack.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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