Waymo may turn to Hyundai for the supply of vehicles to be converted into robotaxis for its growing Waymo One ride service.
Waymo already has a deal with Geely-owned Zeekr for the supply of electric minivans, but Reuters, citing South Korea's Electronic Times, reported on Thursday that the Alphabet-owned company is in talks with Hyundai over a deal to use the Ioniq 5 compact crossover instead of the Zeekr minivan.
Such a move would help Waymo avoid paying the 100% tariff on Chinese-built EVs like the Zeekr minivan. The tariff takes effect from Sept. 27.
Waymo in a response to Reuters said it continues to validate its latest self-driving system, known as the Waymo Driver, in the Zeekr minivans and will add the vehicles to its Waymo One service when they are ready. Waymo's current robotaxis are based on the Jaguar I-Pace compact crossover. Previously, the company used Chrysler Pacifica minivans.
Waymo robotaxi
Zeekr in its own response to Reuters said there was no change to its partnership with Waymo.
Hyundai itself uses the Ioniq 5 as the basis for a robotaxi service known as Motional, which is being developed jointly by Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv. Motional has run successful trials of its service in Las Vegas and is expected to launch a public service in 2026.
Waymo's Waymo One service has been in operation for several years and currently operates in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, with the company delivering more than 100,000 trips per week, it claims. It plans to expand the network to Austin and Atlanta in early 2025, using the Uber network in those cities.
