Hyundai and Waymo enter multi-year, strategic partnership

SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Company and Waymo announced they have entered into a multi-year, strategic partnership.

In the first phase of this partnership, the companies will integrate Waymo’s sixth-generation fully autonomous technology – the Waymo Driver – into Hyundai’s all-electric IONIQ 5 SUV, which will be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.

The IONIQ 5 vehicles destined for the Waymo fleet will be assembled at the new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) EV manufacturing facility in Georgia and then integrated with Waymo’s autonomous technology.

The companies plan to produce a fleet of IONIQ 5s equipped with Waymo’s technology in significant volume over multiple years to support Waymo One’s growing scale.

Initial on-road testing with Waymo-enabled IONIQ 5s will begin by late 2025 and become available to Waymo One riders in the years to follow.

“We are thrilled to partner with Hyundai as we further our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver,” said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO, Waymo.

“Hyundai’s focus on sustainability and strong electric vehicle roadmap makes them a great partner for us as we bring our fully autonomous service to more riders in more places.”

“Hyundai and Waymo share a vision to improve the safety, efficiency and convenience of how people move,” said José Muñoz, president and global COO of Hyundai Motor Company, and president and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America.

“Waymo’s transformational technology is improving road safety where they operate, and the IONIQ 5 is the ideal vehicle to scale this further. The team at our new manufacturing facility is ready to allocate a significant number of vehicles for the Waymo One fleet as it continues to expand. Importantly, this is the first step in the partnership between the two companies and we are actively exploring additional opportunities for collaboration.”

“We recently announced the launch of Hyundai Motor Company’s autonomous vehicle foundry business to provide global autonomous driving companies with vehicles capable of implementing SAE Level 4 or higher autonomous driving technology,” said Chang Song, President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division.

“There is no better partner for our first agreement in this initiative than industry-leader Waymo.”

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 will be delivered to Waymo with specific autonomous-ready modifications like redundant hardware and power doors.

The award-winning, all-electric vehicle will enable long driving shifts on a single charge, and its 800-volt architecture will minimize time out of service with some of the industry’s fastest charging speeds available.

The IONIQ 5’s well-appointed and spacious interior will offer plenty of legroom, headroom, and rear cargo space for a comfortable rider experience.