Waymo and Fiat Chrysler Automotive are extending their four-year-old partnership to include commercial vans. On Wednesday, the companies announced a plan to jointly develop an autonomous delivery van based on FCA's Ram ProMaster. Waymo, the self-driving division of Google parent Alphabet, announced back in 2016 that FCA would be its first OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partner. Since then, the two companies have worked together to retrofit a fleet of hundreds of Chrysler Pacifica minivans with Waymo's self-driving hardware and software. Now, the companies will work together on a new project -- an autonomous delivery van -- in the service of Waymo's nascent delivery service, Waymo Via.

This car is all yours, with no one up front," the pop-up notification from the Waymo app reads. "This ride will be different. With no one else in the car, Waymo will do all the driving. Moments later, an empty Chrysler Pacifica minivan appears and navigates its way to my location near a park in Chandler, the Phoenix suburb where Waymo has been testing its autonomous vehicles since 2016. More than a dozen journalists experienced driverless rides in 2017 on a closed course at Waymo's testing facility in Castle; and Steve Mahan, who is legally blind, took a driverless ride in the company's Firefly prototype on Austin's city streets way back in 2015. But this driverless ride is different -- and not just because it involved an unprotected left-hand turn, busy city streets or that the Waymo One app was used to hail the ride.

Google-owned Waymo is adding as many as 62,000 Fiat Chrysler minivans to its autonomous fleet in an expanded collaboration announced by the companies on Thursday. Delivery of the Chrysler Pacifica minivans was expected to begin later this year, with the automaker also exploring the potential to build Waymo technology into a self-driving car it might add to its model line-up for consumers. 'FCA is committed to bringing self-driving technology to our customers in a manner that is safe, efficient and realistic,' chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne said. John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, is seen in a 2017 photo with a customized Chrysler Pacifica that is being used in the Google-owned firm's autonomous car project'Strategic partnerships, such as the one we have with Waymo, will help to drive innovative technology to the forefront.' Waymo plans to launch the'world's first self-driving transportation service' this year, with people able to summon rides from driverless vehicles using a smartphone application.

The company says they're deploying cars without backup drivers. The company says they're deploying cars without backup drivers. A new study is bolstering the case for putting more autonomous vehicles on the road sooner rather than later -- at the same time that self-driving cars are hitting a milestone in parts of the Phoenix metropolitan area. A research report released this week argues that deploying driverless cars commercially as soon as they become at least a little safer than human drivers, could end up saving hundreds of thousands of lives -- as compared to waiting for the technology to be close to perfect. Meanwhile, on the roads in Arizona, the first public tests of self-driving cars without backup drivers have begun.

Waymo, formerly known as Google's self-driving car, is launching a fully autonomous Uber-like ride-hailing service with no human driver behind the wheel, after testing the vehicles on public roads in Arizona. Waymo, which is owned by Google parent Alphabet, said members of the public will begin riding in its fleet of modified Fiat Chrysler Pacifica minivans outfitted with self-driving technology in the next few months. Passengers will initially be accompanied in the back seat by a Waymo employee, but will eventually travel alone in the robotic car. The service will first be available to those who are already part of the company's public trial already under way in Phoenix. Rides will be free to start with, but Waymo expects to begin charging for journeys at some point.

Apple has shed new light on its top-secret driverless car project, as chief executive Tim Cook described the challenge of building autonomous vehicles as "the mother of all" artificial intelligence projects. Cook said Apple was ploughing resources into developing technology to control driverless vehicles, although he refused to rule out the Silicon Valley firm building its own car at some point. The Apple boss spoke as shares in his company and other US tech firms came under pressure this week amid investor concerns that a sector-wide boom is losing steam. Cook attempted to restore faith in Apple's ability to strike out into new territory by giving his most detailed comments yet about a car venture that has been shrouded in secrecy. "We're focusing on autonomous systems," said Cook in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Google's self-driving vehicle project could soon be treading on the toes of tradesmen and delivery drivers everywhere. The firm has reportedly bolstered its fleet of autonomous vehicles with a number of new Chrysler Pacifica minivans. Forming part of Google's partnership with Italian-controlled car maker Fiat Chrysler, two of the vehicles have already been fitted with sensors, ready for the road. Google's latest additions to its fleet of driverless vehicles could spell trouble for delivery drivers and tradesmen. Six Chrysler Pacifica minivans have been spotted at a Google car park in Mountain View, California.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has high hopes for the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, which will replace its has-been stalwart, the Town and Country, which has been in production for 26 consecutive years. On Tuesday, the Italian-American automaker received a big endorsement from Google for its next-generation family hauler. The tech company is buying 100 Pacificas to advance its self-driving car technology. "Working with Google provides an opportunity for FCA to partner with one of the world's leading technology companies to accelerate the pace of innovation in the automotive industry," Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said. Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director for Kelley Blue Book, said the deal makes sense for both companies: for Fiat Chrysler, because it looks good to partner up with a Silicon Valley giant with deep pockets; and for Google, because it's picking a multi-passenger vehicle with an advanced power train.