Geely’s Zeekr, Waymo partner on autonomous ride-hailing vehicle

Beijing (Gasgoo)- China’s electric vehicle brand Zeekr from Geely Holding Group will work with American autonomous driving technology development company Waymo to develop a new electric vehicle model for Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing fleet to be deployed in the United States, both companies announced on Tuesday.

Photo credit: Geely

According to the partnership, the new model will be designed and developed at the Chinese brand's R&D facility, CEVT (China Europe Vehicle Technology Centre) in Gothenburg, Sweden. The vehicle will be built on its new proprietary and open-source mobility architecture, the SEA-M, according to Geely. After taking delivery of the vehicles in the U.S., Waymo will then empower the transportation-as-a-service (TaaS)-optimized vehicles with its fully autonomous Waymo Driver.

Photo credit: Geely

Notably, the vehicle will be designed for ride-hailing purpose from the very beginning, and is expected to come with a fully configurable cabin, both with and without driver controls, that can be tailored towards rider requirements for the Waymo One unmanned ride-hailing fleet in the U.S.

Photo credit: Geely

According to Waymo, the new model features a flat floor for more accessible entry, easy ingress and egress thanks to a B-pillarless design, low step-in height, generous head and legroom, and fully adjustable seats.

Currently, Zeekr sells one model in China’s market, namely the Zeekr 001, which was launched in April, 2021 with deliveries starting in October. In November, the model’s registrations were 1,179 units.