mmarshall

Waymo, the Google subsidiary for self-driving vehicles, just announced a plan to buy up to 62,000 Chrysler Pacificas to re-outfit them for service. This should give the struggling Chrysler Division a badly-needed shot in the arm....perhaps one of the things that persuaded Sergio Marchionne to keep the division in business. There were strong rumors that he would ax Chrysler...fortunately, those turned out not to be true. Of course, Waymo doesn't have to buy those Pacificas under the Chrysler nameplate....they could buy them from Dodge if the Pacificas ended up re-badged that way.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/31/b...-minivans.html

Waymo to Buy Up to 62,000 Chrysler Minivans for Ride-Hailing Service



A Chrysler Pacifica minivan outfitted with Waymo self-driving technology in Mountain View, Calif., last summer. Waymo’s plan to buy up to 62,000 of the minivans signals its ambitions for a driverless ride-hailing service.CreditJason Henry for The New York TimesWaymo, the driverless-technology company spun out of Google, has agreed to purchase as many as 62,000 minivans from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for use in a ride-hailing service set to begin commercial operations later this year.

The announcement on Thursday is the latest sign that Waymo is counting on a rapid liftoff for the service. In March, it agreed to purchase up to 20,000 compact cars for the service from Jaguar Land Rover beginning in 2019.

Both the Chrysler Pacifica minivans and the Jaguar cars will be equipped with the radars, cameras and sensors that Waymo has developed to enable the vehicles to drive themselves on public roads. Waymo plans to start its service in Phoenix, then expand to the San Francisco area and to other cities across the country.

Waymo began working with Fiat Chrysler in 2016 and has built a fleet of driverless minivans that it has been testing in Phoenix; Mountain View, Calif.; Austin, Tex.; and Kirkland, Wash.“We’re excited to deepen our relationship with F.C.A. that will support the launch of our driverless service, and explore future products that support Waymo’s mission,” Waymo’s chief executive, John Krafcik, said in a statement.

Waymo, a unit of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, will begin purchasing the minivans late this year. It gave no details on how many minivans it expects to buy this year or next, or what period the purchase agreement covers.

The company has been working on self-driving technology for nearly a decade, and is focusing on four potential lines of business. In addition to the ride service it intends to start, Waymo also expects to put its autonomous-driving technology into trucks and delivery vehicles. It is also developing systems for buses or other vehicles that can ferry riders to mass transportation systems. The fourth area would involve licensing its technology to automakers like Fiat Chrysler.

In March, Mr. Krafcik said these four areas have the potential to become highly profitable businesses. Waymo does not intend to make cars itself.

The companies said Thursday that they were in talks about licensing Waymo technology to Fiat Chrysler so the carmaker can at some point sell self-driving minivans to consumers.“F.C.A. is committed to bringing self-driving technology to our customers in a manner that is safe, efficient and realistic,” Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler’s chief executive, said in a statement. “Strategic partnerships, such as the one we have with Waymo, will help to drive innovative technology to the forefront.”

Waymo made its announcement hours after General Motors revealed that its self-driving car operations would be getting a $2.25 billion investmentfrom a fund affiliated with Japan’s SoftBank Group. The new capital is intended to help the automaker’s Cruise division start a commercial ride service that will also use self-driving cars.

Fizzboy7

Really what is called, "fake sales." This, in the longrun, does not help a car company. To be successful, one must consistently sell well each year, without having to get lucky.

SW17LS

The Pacifica sells really well already. Sales are up in 2018 from an already excellent 2017.

Fizzboy7

Not here in Los Angeles. May see one per month. The rest are all rentals.

theory816

The pacifica is a gorgeous looking van.

oldcajun

Here in Tucson, the Pacifica is about the only new mini-van I see. I don't think the local Honda or Toyota dealers do much mini-van business.

Fizzboy7

My question is, why do they need the second pair of doors? Do people ride back there when it's loaded?

mmarshall

Fleet-sales keep the assembly lines running just as much as those to private owners. A factory is either producing vehicles or it isn't.......there's no middle ground.

SW17LS

bitkahuna

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bitkahuna

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Sulu

They do look like stretched Pacificas to me. The body side creases and the sliding door track give it away, but the taillamps have been changed from vertical to horizontal units.

About the rear doors, all the hearses (stretched Cadillacs) I have seen have kept the rear doors.

SW17LS

They are indeed Pacifica hearses.

And hearses do have doors that open on the sides, for flowers, etc.