Jaguar i-Pace already conditioned as a stand-alone Waymo vehicle presented at the New York Motor Show.

Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo, the division in charge of the autonomous vehicle of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), have reached a “long-term” agreement for the joint development of autonomous driving technology. The idea according to both companies is to develop “the first luxury electric autonomous vehicle to offer a transport service without a driver”.

The vehicle chosen for the project is the Jaguar i-Pace, the first 100% premium electric utility vehicle (Sport Utility Vehicle) that will be manufactured in series worldwide, according to Jaguar, as its CEO does not consider , Ralf Speth, does not consider Tesla as a car brand. However, Jaguar has compared its i-Pace circuit with a Tesla Model X to highlight the dynamic benefits of its model compared to the company of Elon Musk. The Jaguar i-Pace part of 79,100 euros in Spain, where you can already make orders.

First tests
The idea of ​​Waymo and Jaguar is that the first tests with the i-Pace Waymo begin in the last third of the year. Both companies have set the goal of putting 20,000 Jaguar i-Pace Waymo into circulation in 2020, the date on which Google’s division plans to make more than one million daily trips without a driver.

According to the two companies, Waymo is the only one that has a fleet of autonomous vehicles without a driver, without anyone sitting in the command post, driving on open roads. At the end of 2018, Waymo will launch the first autonomous driving transport service that will allow the customer to choose a route using the Waymo app.

In addition to Chrysler
Waymo has about 600 Chrysler Pacifica in tests circulating in the US in which it offers services such as ‘delivery’ and ‘collection’ of people at home by an autonomous vehicle. In this regard, John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo explained that “the team of Jaguar Land Rover has developed an electric battery platform that sets new standards in safety, design and capacity.Waymo users can enjoy the luxury and the best experience of the autonomous car with the i-Pace “.

For his part, Speth said that “together we will develop the autonomous Waymo Jaguar i-Pace vehicle with the attractive, space and techno-ecological level that customers expect”. And riveted “we need long-term experts in the field of autonomous car”, and Alphabet is one of them.

On the other hand, the details of the agreement between Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo were announced a day before the start of the press conference of the New York Motor Show, coinciding with the announcement by the State of California to prohibit the tests to the Autonomous vehicles of Uber after the accident in which one of its autonomous vehicles killed a woman in Tempe (Arizona) on Sunday, March 18.

Expansión – Félix García – Madrid – Mar 28 2018 (Translation Soft)