Waymo is adding the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to its fleet of robots

Waymo has its sights set on its next robotaxi: the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Alphabet has announced that it is entering into a “multi-year, strategic” partnership with Hyundai Motor Group that will see the Ioniq 5 finally join its fleet of robots.

But first, the Ioniq 5 will need to be tested on the road with Waymo’s self-driving technology, which the company says will begin in late 2025. Waymo would not specify when the Ioniq 5 would be used in passenger travel, except that it would be “years” later.

The vehicles intended for the Waymo fleet will be produced at Hyundai’s $7.6 billion Metaplant plant in Georgia, which is nearing completion. The companies have agreed to produce a number of Waymo-equipped electric Hyundais there “at high volume over many years,” Waymo said in a press release.

With robotaxis, one of the most important metrics is time, or the amount of time a passenger is on the road. Time spent plugged into a charger is idle time. The Ioniq 5 is an electric crossover SUV with a range of just over 300 miles and an 800-volt structure that boosts its charging speed. When connected to a 350kW fast charger, Hyundai says the Ioniq 5 can charge from 10-80 percent in just 18 minutes, depending on conditions. Waymo certainly saw those charging speeds as a boon to its still-unprofitable business.

The Ioniq 5 has received positive reviews since its release in late 2021, in addition to receiving numerous awards. Today, it is one of the best-selling EVs on the market, with 30,000 sold in the US this year alone. Its popularity has helped Hyundai, and its sister company Kia, overtake Ford and GM as the No. 2 seller of EVs in the US behind Tesla.

Currently, Waymo operates a fleet of hundreds of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles, which have been its main robotic vehicle since the company’s first, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, was retired in 2013. The company plans to add a new vehicle made by Geely. Zeekr – although the recent move by the Biden administration to raise tariffs on electric cars from China may complicate that.

A recent report from South Korea previewed today’s news, with informed sources Electric times that the two companies met several times at Waymo’s headquarters in California to discuss “contracting of robots.” Sources also told the newspaper that Waymo was looking for a “replacement” of its Zeekr vehicles due to the high cost of new vehicles.

But Waymo backtracked on the report and reiterated its intention to eventually ship Zeekr. “IONIQ 5 will not directly replace any of our vehicle platforms, but it will help us prepare for additional opportunities for scale and growth,” Waymo spokesman Christopher Bonelli said in an email. Waymo is “hard at work” verifying the sixth version of its self-driving technology in the Zeekr car, he added.

Sadly, Waymo is not saying how many Ioniq 5s it plans to buy from Hyundai, unlike how it has used previous car announcements. Some of this may be due to Waymo becoming more cautious about overly optimistic forecasts after critics lambasted the AV industry for setting false deadlines.

This won’t be the Ioniq 5’s first self-driving rodeo. The car also serves as a platform for Motional, Hyundai’s robotaxi subsidiary, and Avride, formerly Yandex’s self-driving group.

But Waymo’s business is much busier than those firms. The company recently celebrated an important milestone: 100,000 paid trips per week.