Jaguar teams up with Waymo to develop world’s first premium self-driving car

The companies will work together on the Jaguar I-PACE to refine technology and deliver safety and reliability.

Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo have joined forces to develop the world’s first premium self-driving car.

Both JLR and Waymo hope this collaboration will further their shared goals to make cars safer, free up valuable time and improve mobility for drivers.

JLR will supply up to 20,000 of its new electric I-PACE cars to Waymo, a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet, which will be converted into self-driving vehicles for its ride-hailing service.

The Jaguar I‑PACE was launched last month and is the company’s first full-electric SUV. The 20,000 vehicles will be available for riders of Waymo’s driverless service, serving one million trips per day.

The deal is worth $1.8 billion and not only boosts Waymo’s ambition to develop a driverless ride-hailing service but will likely prove to be a major deal for JLR, Britain’s biggest car manufacturer, as it takes it first steps into electric vehicles.

To date, Waymo is the only company with a fleet of fully self-driving cars on public roads and later this year Waymo will launch the world’s first self-driving transportation service allowing members of the public to use Waymo’s app to request a vehicle.

Waymo Jaguar I‑PACE models will start testing later this year which will allow Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover engineers to refine technology and deliver optimum safety and reliability.

“Our passion for further advancing smart mobility needs expert long-term partners,” Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth said. “In joining forces with Waymo we are pioneering to push the boundaries of technology. Together we will deliver the self-driving Waymo Jaguar I‑PACE with the grace, space and eco-pace that customers expect.”

“While we’ve been focused at Waymo on building the world’s most experienced driver, the team at Jaguar Land Rover has developed an all-new battery-electric platform that looks to set a new standard in safety, design and capability,” Waymo chief executive John Krafcik said.

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