Autonomous Jaguar I-Pace cars to hit roads as part of Google deal

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Krafcik (pictured below left) said: “While we've been focused at Waymo on building the world's most experienced driver, the team at JLR has developed an all-new battery-electric platform that looks to set a new standard in safety, design and capability. We're sure Waymo riders will enjoy the safe, premium and delightful experience that the self-driving I-Pace will provide.”

JLR has been heavily involved in developing its own self-driving technology for many years and this year will spend more than £4 billion on R&D across its business. While it is expected to continue running its own autonomous projects (and those in the UK will remain unchanged), CEO Ralf Speth (pictured below right) hinted at the advantages of partnering Waymo both in terms of cutting development budgets and timelines. “Our passion for further advancing smart mobility needs expert long-term partners,” he said. “In joining forces with Waymo, we are pioneering to push the boundaries of technology.”

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Waymo’s testing to date has encountered controversy - notably when it had declared incidents and crashes involving its vehicles, as it is required to do by law - but the company says its technology has progressed to the point where it is the only firm in the world testing self-driving cars in public without ‘fail-safe’ drivers at the wheel in case of issues with its systems. As such, later this year it is planning to launch a self-driving transport service in Phoenix, Arizona, allowing members of the public to use Waymo’s app to request a vehicle. 

"We’ve been working on this technology for almost ten years, focusing on getting the tech right, running simulations of scenarios and testing them in the real world," said Krafcik. "So we do have a level of confidence in the technology and the point is it is only going to get better. Self-driving cars get better at the same time; when one learns a lesson, they all do - it is a advantage they have over human drivers."

Jaguar and Waymo also highlighted that their deal was struck around the “shared goals” of “making cars safer, freeing up people’s valuable time and improving mobility for everyone”.

However, autonomous driving has come under the spotlight as testing on public roads ramps up. The first pedestrian fatality was reported last week when a self-driving Volvo XC90, which was part of rival Uber’s test programme, hit and killed a pedestrian. While the accident is the subject of an investigation, early reports have pointed to a “catastrophic failure” of the self-driving systems. The behaviour of the car’s occupant, who was sitting behind the wheel as a fail-safe in the event of problems, is also being investigated.

Before the announcement of the Jaguar deal, Krafcik had already addressed the Uber incident, saying: “What happened was a tragedy. It was terrible. We're very confident that our car could have handled that situation. We know that for a lot of different reasons. It's what we have designed this system to do in situations just like that. People join Waymo because they want to solve problems like this. To see it happen in a vehicle that ostensibly has technology that should be seeking to solve this problem but didn't work – it's tough.”

Jaguar I-Pace First Edition 2018 first drive

Although the deal with Waymo is seen as an important step in JLR's push to become a leader in autonomous tech, Speth stressed that JLR won’t be about only driverless systems. He said: "We want to offer a spectrum of choice; in traffic, we can all imagine the benefits of autonomy. But it is also clear there will be times when you want a steering wheel to have fun. We will offer the whole spectrum."

The signing of the Waymo deal is another fillip for Jaguar, which has stolen a march on premium rivals including Audi and Mercedes-Benz by being the first established manufacturer to bring an all-electric car to market in the booming SUV sector. Only Tesla, with the Model X, offers a high-profile alternative, while BMW leads at the upper end of the market with the BMW i3.

Furthermore, JLR bosses are said to have long ago committed funds to ensure that it can fight to maintain its electric car leadership. Next to launch is expected to be the so-called Road Rover, a high-riding saloon-like vehicle that will be Land Rover’s first electric vehicle and which is expected to be shown later this year, possibly as part of the brand’s 70th birthday celebrations.

Although it is not expected to carry the Road Rover name in production, the car has earned the nickname due to the concept of the same name created in the 1960s and because of its road-going bias, which will lead to it being pitched as an Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class rival. In turn, the next-generation Jaguar XJ is widely tipped to share much of the technology and platform with that car and, as such, is reported to be under development with an electric powertrain.

Last year, JLR made headlines when it pledged that, from 2020, all of its vehicles will be electrified – although many of these will be sold as petrol and diesel-engined cars using mild hybrid systems.

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