Hyundai Motor Company and Waymo have announced a multi-year strategic partnership to integrate Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous technology, the Waymo Driver, into Hyundai’s all-electric IONIQ 5 SUV. The first phase of the collaboration will see these autonomous IONIQ 5s gradually added to the Waymo One fleet.
The IONIQ 5 vehicles for this project will be produced at Hyundai’s new Metaplant America EV facility in Georgia before being fitted with Waymo’s autonomous technology. The companies aim to scale production over several years, creating a significant fleet to support Waymo One’s expansion. Initial on-road testing of Waymo-enabled IONIQ 5s is slated to begin by late 2025, with the vehicles expected to become available to Waymo One users in the following years.
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/President and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America, added,”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. The team at our new manufacturing facility is ready to allocate a significant number of vehicles for the Waymo One fleet as it continues to expand. Importantly, this is the first step in the partnership between the two companies and we are actively exploring additional opportunities for collaboration.”
Chang Song,President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division, commented, “We recently announced the launch of Hyundai Motor Company’s autonomous vehicle foundry business to provide global autonomous driving companies with vehicles capable of implementing SAE Level 4 or higher autonomous driving technology. There is no better partner for our first agreement in this initiative than industry-leader Waymo.”
