Toyota & Waymo announce autonomous vehicle cooperation
Toyota and Waymo will combine their respective strengths to develop a new platform for autonomous vehicles. In parallel, the companies will explore how they can leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to improve the next generation of privately owned vehicles. The scope of the collaboration is planned to evolve as discussions continue.
Woven by Toyota will also join the potential collaboration as Toyota’s strategic enabler, as the partners write, and together, they plan to connect Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles. Waymo’s expertise is quite well developed at this point, as the company writes that it serves more than a quarter of a million trips each week across the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. Waymo’s autonomous features are reported to be even safer than a human driving, as Waymo writes that its vehicle technology achieves “81% fewer injury-causing crashes compared to a human benchmark.” The company also recently announced plans to expand into Washington D.C., as well as its partnership with Uber in Austin, Texas. In its first such move internationally, autonomous driving tests were launched in Japan earlier this year.
“Toyota is committed to realizing a society with zero traffic accidents and becoming a mobility company that delivers mobility for all,” explained Hiroki Nakajima, Member of the Board and Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation, adding: “We share a strong sense of purpose and a common vision with Waymo in advancing safety through automated driving technology, and we are confident this collaboration can help bring our solutions to more people around the world, moving us one step closer to a zero-accident society.”
Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana further emphasized the impact of this collaboration for Waymo, stating: “Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver. This requires global partners like Toyota that share our commitment to improving road safety and expanding accessible transportation. We look forward to exploring this strategic partnership, incorporating their vehicles into our ride-hailing fleet and bringing the magic of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology to Toyota customers.”
0 Comments