Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) has announced that by the end of the year it will supply a few thousand cars to Waymo, the Alphabet company that designs and develops self-driving cars. The two companies have not provided many other details on the terms of the agreement, which however provides for a substantial supply of Chrysler Pacifica minivans. The hybrid version of these vehicles is sold at a price of around 40 thousand dollars, so considering that we are talking about “thousands” of cars, the deal could be worth several tens of millions of dollars. Waymo has been using some 600 FCA minivans for a couple of years to test its automatic driving systems, including the recent pilot program started in Arizona. The agreement does not provide for an exclusivity, but the two companies seem to have found a good balance and are satisfied with their collaboration.
FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne wrote in the press release that: “Our partnership with Waymo continues to grow and strengthen; this is just the last of the signs that indicate our commitment in the technological field “. So far the Pacifica have been tested in at least 25 cities in the United States, mostly in California, with small-scale or more ambitious projects like the one in Phoenix, where testing with volunteers has begun. Waymo's plans are still not completely clear: on the one hand, the company aims to produce technologies that can then be licensed to traditional car manufacturers, and on the other, it is engaged in projects to offer automatic transport services in large cities.
