Google's Waymo Unveils a Fleet of Self-Driving Hybrid Minivans

By Vishal Goel, | December 22, 2016

The hybrid minivans owned by Google's new venture were produced by Fiat Chrysler. (YouTube)

The hybrid minivans owned by Google's new venture were produced by Fiat Chrysler. (YouTube)

Waymo, the new autonomous vehicle company under Alphabet, has unveiled a fleet of hundred Fiat Chrysler Pacifica minivans. The hybrid cars can go about 48 km in pure electric mode and are fitted with custom computers, sensors, and telematics used on Google's Lexus SUV and other self-driving cars.

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The hybrid minivans owned by Google's new venture were produced by Fiat Chrysler specifically for the purpose of making them fully autonomous using its technology, onboard computer power, sensors, and telematics.

These vehicles are a result of a close partnership between Waymo and FCA. The engineering teams from both companies tested the technology through the development process at Chelsea, Michigan, Yucca, Arizona, and Waymo's facilities in California.

While the new Chrysler Pacificas created are based on the 2017 production model, certain changes were made to the vehicle's electrical, powertrain, and structural systems, as well as to the vehicle chassis itself, to make them compatible with Waymo's technology.

The changes took only six months, according to FCA. It would have been tougher for Alphabet to do on its own had the company purchased Chrysler vehicles off the line and made aftermarket modifications on stock vehicles.

In a blog post, Waymo CEO John Krafcik noted that the addition of the Pacifica minivans to their test fleet better represents the full range of vehicles and passenger needs among its range of self-driving vehicles. The prototypes of the minivans have gone through a range of tests, including being exposed to extreme weather for over two hundred hours, Krafcik said in the blog post.

Bloomberg recently reported that Waymo is working with Fiat Chrysler on a larger fleet of semi-autonomous Chrysler Pacifica vehicles as well.

The new cars will join Waymo's other self-driving vehicles in active service on public roads for testing starting early next year.

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