Alphabet's Waymo Hires Avis to Service its Driverless Cars
June 26 2017 - 12:38PM
Dow Jones News
By Jack Nicas
Google parent Alphabet Inc. is hiring rental-car firm Avis
Budget Group Inc. to store and service its self-driving cars in a
deal that shows Alphabet's vision of a network of driverless taxis
is getting closer to reality.
Alphabet's driverless-car unit Waymo is ramping up a program it
launched in April in Phoenix to eventually give hundreds of
selected residents there free rides in its self-driving cars.
Under the program, Waymo needs a depot to service and dispatch
its vehicles. The company said it chose Avis for its experience
quickly fixing and cleaning rental cars and for its presence across
the U.S. and abroad, which can help Waymo expand its program to
other cities.
Avis, which also owns the rental-car service Zipcar, said that
under the multiyear agreement, it is modifying some rental-car
locations to park Waymo's vehicles and service them, including oil
changes, tire rotations and cleaning. The companies didn't disclose
financial terms of the deal or its specific length. The deal isn't
exclusive, so Waymo can still partner with other fleet-management
firms.
The news helped boost Avis shares 11% by midday Monday as it
gave the company a lead on other auto firms hoping to get into the
business of managing driverless-car fleets, a service that could
include everything from arranging for financing and insurance to
providing maintenance for fleet operators. During an investor
conference last fall, Ford Motor Co. said it is looking to manage
such fleets.
Waymo has 100 Chrysler Pacifica self-driving minivans and has
ordered another 500 of the vans from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV,
which Waymo equips with computers and sensors to make them
self-driving. Waymo's cars, which also include Lexus SUVs, have
driven more than 3 million miles in testing across California,
Washington, Texas and Arizona.
--Christina Rogers contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 26, 2017 13:23 ET (17:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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