Amazon Invests Another $1.9 Billion in Delivery Service Partner Program

Hyundai Motor is planning to manufacture "tens of thousands" of Ioniq 5 robotaxis for Alphabet's Waymo, Chief Executive José Muñoz said Thursday at an event in San Jose, California. The production target, reported by InsideEVs, is the first time Hyundai and Waymo have disclosed the expected number of vehicles since announcing their partnership in 2024. The robotaxis will be built at Hyundai's manufacturing complex near Savannah, Georgia, with commercial deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter after an initial testing program. Muñoz said the robotaxi manufacturing operation is already profitable and is developing into a business of its own, and that other autonomous-vehicle companies have expressed interest, potentially allowing Hyundai to expand beyond Waymo. The Ioniq 5 vehicles will be delivered with modifications needed to accommodate Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous-driving system, an integration that could simplify deployment compared with vehicles retrofitted after assembly. Waymo has about 4,000 vehicles operating or preparing to operate across 14 U.S. cities, and its expansion makes it a potentially significant fleet customer as automakers including Rivian, Lucid and Stellantis also pursue vehicle-supply agreements with Uber or other autonomous-mobility partners.