More than 2000 Jaguar I-Pace electric cars are set to be converted into autonomous taxis at a new factory in the US.
The EVs will be converted in Arizona by manufacturer Magna as part of a push by Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle firm Waymo to expand its services.
Already completing more than 250,000 autonomous taxi trips each week in Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, Waymo now wants to expand to Atlanta, Miami and Washington DC from next year.
Its fleet currently consists of 1500 vehicles, which are all I-Paces.
Conversion of a further 2000 I-Paces (a “final delivery” to Waymo before Jaguar pulled the model from sale last year ahead of its 2026 rebranding) includes retrofitting an array of hardware, such as roof-mounted lidar, a host radar sensors and 29 cameras, and integrating its own computing software: the sixth-generation Waymo Driver.
“The Waymo Driver integration plant in Mesa is the epicenter of our future growth plans,” said Ryan McNamara, Waymo's vice-president of operations.
“With our partners at Magna, we’ve opened a manufacturing site that enables the cost efficiency, flexibility and capacity to scale our fleet to new heights.”
As the I-Pace no longer made by Jaguar, the site will also begin to convert new cars, such as the Zeekr Mix.
At full capacity, the factory will be capable of converting tens of thousands of vehicles per year, claimed Waymo.
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