Google’s subsidiary Waymo has entered into a partnership with Chinese company Zeekr. The two firms will collaborate on a project for a vehicle that is both autonomous and electric.
In April, Zeekr, a young Chinese electric manufacturer who could shake Tesla, unveiled its first all-electric vehicle called “Zeekr 001”, a sedan more cut out as a hunting station wagon, which could land in Europe in 2022. But the subsidiary of Geely, Chinese automotive juggernaut, does not intend to stop there. This time, it presented its project for an autonomous – driverless – and electric taxi, in partnership with Waymo, the dedicated subsidiary of Alphabet (Google).
A vehicle developed and designed in Sweden, then deployed in the United States
Waymo and Zeekr will work on the development of a new 100% electric vehicle with a view to propelling a fully autonomous fleet in the United States through the sales department of the American company, Waymo One.
This new vehicle will be designed and developed directly from Zeekr’s research and development center, the China Europe Vehicle Technology Center (CEVT), located in Gothenburg, Sweden. The future autonomous vehicle will be based on a proprietary and open source architecture.
The Google subsidiary, for its part, will deliver the Zeekr electric vehicles and directly integrate the Waymo Driver, its in-house autonomous driving technology. She also promises to ” expand access to sustainable transport “.
A taxi designed for comfort above all
Waymo and Zeekr intend to optimize their joint vehicle for what is called TaaS, transport as a service, with a livery of driverless vehicles that will prioritize the comfort, convenience and preferences of users of the Waymo One app. This therefore implies offering a cabin that can be configured according to the profile of the people transported.
The vehicle will have a flat floor, which will make getting on board easier for everyone, with generous head and leg room, in addition to, we said, fully adjustable seats. The final idea of Waymo and Zeekr is to offer an autonomous taxi without steering wheel or pedals, which will offer even more space to customers, integrating screens and chargers accessible and within reach.
No date has yet been announced by Zeekr and Waymo. But the American firm hopes to deploy the vehicle ” in the years to come “. All in all, which remains rather vague.
Autonomous car is not yet a reality. At least in its most automated version, which allows it to do without a driver. On the other hand, several levels exist, and these are a reality.
Read more
Source: press release
0