Waymo receives his first Jaguar I-Pace

Waymo, Google's autonomous vehicle division, has just taken delivery of its first three Jaguar I-Pace 100% electric SUVs for its fleet of autonomous shuttles.
                

(credit: Waymo)

In March, Waymo, an Alphabet subsidiary dedicated to autonomous vehicles, announced that it had concluded a deal with Jaguar for the supply of of 20,000 I-Pace, the new 100% electric SUV of the British brand.

Four months later, Waymo has just received its first three Jaguar I-Pace which according to our colleagues of the site TechCrunch currently circulate in the bay of San Francisco. According to Waymo, I-Pace Jaguars have not yet been transformed with the addition of autonomous driving. The reason ? Test the performance of the vehicle on local roads in order to better integrate the equipment of autonomous road driving and develop sustainability tests. No specific date for their transfer has been communicated.

Precursor on American soil

These I-Pace Jaguars are the first three to evolve on American soil apart from Jaguar's own Land Rover fleet. It is also the first real challenger against the Tesla Model X ahead of the BMW, Audi and Mercedes whose first 100% electric SUV will not arrive before 2019.

The Jaguar I-Pace is proposed in a single version 400 hp (694 Nm of torque). The power comes from the two permanent magnet synchronous motors from the Formula E where Jaguar is engaged. These electric motors are powered by a battery with a capacity of 90 kWh. The announced range is 480 kilometers (WLTP cycles). It benefits from a fast recharge (up to 100 kW) allowing to have 80% of autonomy in 45 minutes. It takes 10 hours for a full charge via the 7 kW wallbox offered by the British manufacturer.

These I-Pace Jaguar are one of the components of the vast fleet of autonomous vehicles (without driver) that Waymo intends to launch by 2020. This service will be used to transport people, but also goods. And the technology developed by Waymo will be sold as a license to interested car manufacturers.