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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Waymo and Jaguar will build up to 20,000 self-driving electric SUVs [theverge.com]

Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover have inked a deal that will add tens of thousands of all-electric I-Pace SUVs to the Alphabet unit's growing lineup of self-driving taxis. The I-Pace, which made its global debut [theverge.com] earlier this month, is not as much of a people-mover as Waymo's Chrysler Pacifica minivans [theverge.com], but it will serve as a more high-end ride for those willing to pay a premium for their driverless transportation.

The first prototype I-Pace with Waymo's self-driving technology will hit the road for public testing at the end of 2018, and officially become part of Waymo's commercial ride-hailing service starting in 2020. Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover's engineers will work in tandem to build these cars to be self-driving from the start, rather than retrofitting them after they come off the assembly line. Long-term, the companies say they plan to build up to 20,000 vehicles in the first two years of production, with the goal of serving a potential 1 million trips a day. It's unclear how much money would be trading hands under the deal.

They're coming for Tesla! [fastcompany.com]

Related: Waymo Orders Thousands More Chrysler Pacifica Minivans for Driverless Fleet [soylentnews.org]
Google/Waymo Announces Testing of Self-Driving Trucks in Atlanta, Georgia [soylentnews.org]

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