SAN FRANCISCO, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Alphabet Inc's Waymo has begun testing of self-driving Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles on public roads in Silicon Valley, local media reported Monday.
With a safety driver behind the wheel, an autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicle was spotted running on public roads in Mountain View, California, where the headquarters of both Waymo and Google are located, and Waymo later confirmed the test driving to the Bay Area-based TechCrunch media outlet.
Waymo, the Alphabet-owned Google spin-off, signed a deal with Jaguar Land Rover, a manufacturer of high-performance luxury cars and off-road vehicles, in March 2018 to add 20,000 e-vehicles to its driverless fleet over the next two years.
It received the first three Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in July last year, and the cars have been running on the streets of the Bay Area under the control of human drivers.
Waymo's test of the Jaguar I-Pace is one of the latest steps to expand its existing fleet of self-driving vehicles to offer a more luxurious option for future ride-hailing services.
The self-driving startup has been testing Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans powered with autonomous driving technology on public roads in the states of Arizona and California.
