Alphabet
’s
GOOGL
self-driving unit Waymo is gaining traction among the people residing in San Francisco, CA, by expanding its Early Rider program, which is now called Trusted Tester.
Waymo One Trusted Tester has hit the streets of San Francisco and is now welcoming people to hail a ride in a self-driving Jaguar I-Pace. Currently, rides will be limited to the company’s initial service area.
People can book pickups via the Waymo One app and rides will be free during the testing period.
Further, there will be a safety driver to take the control of the vehicle, if required.
The latest move marks the very first expansion of the driverless ride-hailing service of Waymo outside Phoenix, AZ.
Growing Autonomous Driving Efforts
The latest move bodes well for the company’s strengthening efforts toward bolstering its self-driving business as well as offerings.
In addition to the recent step, it teamed up with Google’s Maps to ensure a seamless booking experience for Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing service called Waymo One. Notably, customers will be able to book Waymo One directly from the Maps app. Waymo One will be added to the ride-sharing and transit tab of the app.
Waymo recently raised $2.5 billion in a fresh funding round, with the help of which it intends to bring further advancements in its autonomous driving technology and expand its operations.
Further, Waymo’s partnership with Transportation Research Center — the provider of independent vehicle test facilities and proving grounds — remains noteworthy. On the back of the deal, the company intends on building an advanced testing environment for Waymo Driver in East Liberty, OH.
These endeavors will help Alphabet rapidly penetrate the booming autonomous driving space.
Per a report from Research and Markets, sales of autonomous vehicles across the globe are expected to witness a CAGR of 40.3% between 2020 and 2030, and hit $58 million units by 2030.
Further, a report from Mordor Intelligence states that the worldwide driverless vehicle market is expected to see a CAGR of 18.06% between 2021 and 2026.
Intensifying Competition
Given the upbeat scenario, not only Alphabet but also companies like
Amazon
AMZN
,
Intel
INTC
, Apple and
Baidu
BIDU
are making every effort to capitalize on the growth prospects in the autonomous driving space.
Amazon’s buyout of Zoox, a developer of autonomous ride-hailing vehicles, remains a major positive. Further, the company’s launch of its first self-driving robotaxi strengthened its position in the autonomous driving space.
Meanwhile, Intel is gaining strong on the low power consumption of Mobileye chips and the ability to create maps for self-driving systems. The company intends to introduce an autonomous ride-hailing service in Israel in early 2022.
Baidu is gaining hugely from the expansion of Apollo Go Robotaxi service, which features about 100 pick-up and drop-off stations across several residential as well as business areas.
Then again, Apple is planning to produce self-driving car technology and introduce autonomous vehicles, which could include its breakthrough battery technology by 2024.
Nevertheless, Alphabet’s growing autonomous driving initiatives are likely to help it in staying ahead of the curve.
Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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