GOOGLE PROJECT EXPANDS
500 Pacifica Hybrids added to fleet
Google’s self-driving car project is expanding its fleet of Windsormade Chrysler Pacifica hybrids by 500 and will offer rides to the public as it continues the first test of the technology in minivans.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already delivered 100 Pacifica hybrids to Waymo, Google’s self-driving car project. Road tests started earlier this year in Arizona, California and Michigan.
Production of another 500 minivans will ramp up beginning next month, Fiat Chrysler announced Tuesday.
“The collaboration between FCA and Waymo has been advantageous for both companies as we continue to work together to fully understand the steps needed to bring self-driving vehicles to market,” Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a news release. “The addition of 500 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans is a further acknowledgment of the hard work put forth by both engineering teams.”
After the Pacifica hybrid minivans are built in Windsor, selfdriving software and hardware from Waymo, including sensors and cameras, is added at a facility in Michigan.
Waymo and Fiat Chrysler have a group of engineers from both companies working at a site in Michigan to accelerate the overall development process, the automaker said.
“This collaboration is helping both companies learn how to bring self-driving cars to market and realize the safety and mobility benefits of this technology,” Waymo chief John Krafcik said in a company release.
He called the Pacifica “a versatile vehicle for our early rider program, which will give people access to our self-driving fleet to use every day, at any time.”
Ordering 500 more Pacificas will allow hundreds of people in Phoenix to take rides in the vehicles and give Waymo feedback on the experience, he said.
Waymo isn’t the first to put regular passengers in self-driving cars in the race to develop the technology. Ride-hailing company Uber has had self-driving Volvos on the road in Pittsburgh since last fall. Boston startup NuTonomy is giving taxi rides to passengers in Singapore and Boston. In all cases, there is a backup driver behind the wheel.
Waymo said it wants to learn where people want to go in a selfdriving vehicle, how they communicate with it and what kinds of information and controls they want.
Waymo — created by Google in 2009 — has given rides to the public before in its hometown of Mountain View, Calif. In 2015, it let a blind man ride around Austin, Texas, in one of its completely self-driving pods. The Phoenix program will be much larger in scale, and it will be the first to use the Pacifica minivans.
Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst for the car shopping site Autotrader, said studies have shown a majority of Americans are still reluctant to ride in a fully self-driving car. Opening Waymo’s vehicles to the public will help build riders’ confidence, she said.
“The key to acceptance is exposure and education,” she said.
Ultimately, Waymo said, selfdriving cars could prevent many of the 1.2 million deaths that occur on roads worldwide each year.
Waymo has made clear it intends to form partnerships with automakers and not build its own selfdriving cars. It’s also in talks with Honda Motor Co. about a potential collaboration.
This collaboration is helping both companies realize the safety and mobility benefits of this technology.