As expected, the first vehicles powered by Google’s self-driving technology will hit the roads later this month.
The vehicles—a fleet of about 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans developed in collaboration with Fiat Chrysler—will make their initial appearance in Phoenix, Ariz. and Google’s hometown of Mountain View, Calif.
The Chrysler Pacifica minivans will be the first vehicles to be equipped with Waymo’s all new fully integrated autonomous vehicle hardware suite. The minivans are designed to operate completely independently without a person at the steering wheel at any time.
The vehicles will feature three different types of remote sensing technology, Krafcik said in an interview with CNBC at the Detroit auto show.
The autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivans are the result of a partnership that Google entered into with Fiat Chrysler in 2016 before it spun out Waymo as a separate business. The collaboration is the firm’s first with an automaker on a mass production vehicle. Waymo has said that it will seek similar collaborations with other major automakers as well.
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