Alphabet-owned Waymo and Hyundai Motor Company have entered into a strategic, multi-year partnership where the latter will provide the Ioniq 5 electric SUV to the robotaxi company. Hyundai hasn’t announced how many units of the Ioniq 5 it will provide to Waymo and has only mentioned these EVs will be added to Waymo’s fleet over time.
The Ioniq 5s for Waymo will be assembled at Hyundai’s EV manufacturing facility in Georgia, USA and will then be fitted with Waymo’s autonomous technology. Currently, Waymo has Jaguar i-Pace and Chrysler Pacifica in its portfolio. On-road testing for the Waymo Ioniq 5’s will begin by late 2025 and these will be available to Waymo One riders in the “years to follow”.
Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO, Waymo, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Hyundai as we further our mission to be the world's most trusted driver. Hyundai’s focus on sustainability and strong electric vehicle roadmap makes them a great partner for us as we bring our fully autonomous service to more riders in more places.”
José Muñoz, president and global COO of Hyundai Motor Company, and president and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, said, “Hyundai and Waymo share a vision to improve the safety, efficiency and convenience of how people move, Waymo’s transformational technology is improving road safety where they operate, and the IONIQ 5 is the ideal vehicle to scale this further.”
