Driverless partnership goes global

According to the jointly released press release, the agreement is not designed to allow Waymo to sell driverless cars in France or Japan. Instead, it  “is designed to bring together the strengths of each party and expand expertise by assessing market opportunities, working together to research commercial, legal and regulatory issues related to driverless transportation-as-a-service offerings in France and Japan.” The three companies have described this new agreement as a first step.

From the outside it appears the Waymo is likely to bring the technological expertise with its current testing programmes across the US, being recently granted permits in both California and Arizona to pick up passengers, while Nissan and Renault can bring extensive manufacturing processes and experience, alongside insider knowledge of the markets they’re examining.

According to the release: “This analysis will first take place in France and Japan, home to Groupe Renault and Nissan headquarters, respectively, and may expand to other markets, excluding China, in the future.
 
“To further the exploration process, Groupe Renault and Nissan will create joint venture Alliance-focused companies in France and Japan dedicated to driverless mobility services.”