Reporter | Zhou Chunliang
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On December 29, Geely Holding Group announced that it has reached a cooperation with waymo, a driverless technology company: its electric brand Extreme Kr will provide exclusive vehicles for the Waymo One driverless fleet and put it into commercial operation in the United States. The model is based on the KR intelligent mobility platform SEA-M (SEA-M) architecture, designed and developed by the Krypton European Innovation Center (CEVT).
The emergence of Waymo One will compete with Alphabet's Lyft/Uber business. The latter is already in operation in Phoenix, while Waymo One is currently being tested in San Francisco.
Different from the design ideas of traditional models that focus on drivers, this time, Extreme Kr and Waymo join hands to create exclusive travel service products for unmanned driving application scenarios. The model adopts a passenger-centric design concept, pays more attention to passenger preferences, and highlights the comfort and convenience of the ride experience.
Waymo said the future electric car of its U.S. ride-hailing service will be "passenger-first" and without a steering wheel. "We will integrate our Waymo Driver into a new mobility-focused Krypton brand electric vehicle designed specifically for the ride-hailing business in Sweden," the company said. ”
It was revealed that the MPV was optimized for the Transportation Services (TaaS) business, rather than being a vehicle modified for autonomous driving, as Chrysler Pacifica and Jaguar I-Pace have been.
According to Waymo's announcement, the upcoming car will "prioritize the comfort, convenience and preferences of Waymo One passengers," featuring features such as flat flooring, ease of entry and exit, and adjustable seats.
Externally, the car has eliminated the B-pillar design, creating ample head and leg space for passengers, bringing a more convenient boarding and getting off the car. At the same time, the model is oriented to unmanned driving application scenarios, adopting a more flexible cockpit design, which can support two schemes with and no driver control mechanism, as well as a variety of seat layouts.
From today's rendering, we see that the main sensors are configured on the roof. According to the plan, the model will be equipped with Waymo Driver driverless solution after delivery.
Other design visions for the car include "reclining seats, interactive entertainment screens, chargers, and an easy-to-configure and comfortable cabin." ”