Waymo Volvo
An autonomous Waymo car undergoing testing in Los Altos, California. Credit: Dllu.

Volvo Car Group has entered a strategic partnership with Alphabet subsidiary Waymo to develop an autonomous electric vehicle for ride-hailing services.

The collaboration makes Waymo the exclusive global L4 (level 4 autonomous drive technology) partner for Volvo Car Group and its strategic affiliates Polestar and Lynk & Co International.

The two companies will initially work to integrate Waymo’s fully self-driving technology, called the Waymo Driver, with the electric vehicle platform.

According to Reuters, Volvo will design and build the self-driving car, while Waymo will be responsible for delivering the necessary artificial intelligence technologies and other hardware to enable autonomous driving.

Volvo Car Group chief technology officer Henrik Green said: “Fully autonomous vehicles have the potential to improve road safety to previously unseen levels and to revolutionise the way people live, work and travel.

“Our global partnership with Waymo opens up new and exciting business opportunities for Volvo Cars, Polestar and Lynk & Co.”

The companies did not provide any details on when they are planning to roll out the new self-driving vehicle.

Waymo chief automotive officer Adam Frost said: “This key partnership with Volvo Car Group helps pave the path to the deployment of the Waymo Driver abroad in years to come, and represents an important milestone in the highly competitive autonomous vehicle industry.

“Volvo Car Group shares our vision of creating an autonomous future where roads are safer, and transportation is more accessible and greener.”

Notably, Waymo has raised $3bn earlier this year through an external investment round.