Waymo to Have Avis Manage Autonomous Fleet in Arizona
Alphabet’s self-driving car unit has agreed to a multi-year partnership with Avis Budget Group.
The deal, which is not exclusive, will see Avis manage Waymo’s fleet of autonomous vehicles. Waymo will retain full ownership of its self-driving vehicles.
Financial terms of the deal, which is limited to Arizona, were not disclosed; regardless, shares of Avis jumped on the news.
While Avis is a traditional car rental company, it is also the owner of Zipcar, an on-demand rental service similar to Car2go. Zipcar, which has more than one million members, opens potential doors to Waymo—the concept of a network of on-demand, self-driving cars is among the company’s moonshot goals.
Avis plans to retrofit some of its facilities in order to accommodate Waymo’s vehicles as opposed to opening new buildings. The company will ensure the traditional car components are in working order, but Waymo will be responsible for managing the autonomous technology parts.
Other comparable companies have established similar partnerships, such as Lyft with Jaguar and GM.
