Reports: Hyundai and Waymo explore collaboration involving self-driving vehicles

Days after the Biden administration finalized steep tariff increases on Chinese EV imports, the ripple effects might have reached the realm of self-driving vehicles.

Self-driving tech company Waymo is holding discussions with Hyundai Motor Group about using the automaker's Ioniq 5 electric vehicle as a robotaxi platform, according to reports from Reuters and a South Korean newspaper.

The talks come as Waymo, an Alphabet subsidiary, searches for an alternate to its Zeekr robotaxi platform, which is designed and developed with Chinese automaker Geely. The tariff is set to increase to 100 percent on Sept. 27.

Zeekr robotaxis equipped with Waymo's latest self-driving technology had started trickling into Waymo's U.S. test fleet in May, when the White House announced the tariffs, but have not yet been commercially deployed.

A Waymo spokesperson said the company was "monitoring the China tariff situation closely" at the time.

Waymo declined to comment Sept. 19. A Zeekr spokesperson told Reuters there were no changes to the Waymo partnership.

"Hyundai Motor Company is working to commercialize an autonomous driving vehicle foundry business. However, nothing is determined at this stage about new businesses," a company spokesperson said. 

It was unclear whether Waymo would use the Ioniq vehicles as a wholesale Zeekr replacement or consider someday deploying Zeekrs overseas while using the Hyundais within the U.S., effectively developing two global autonomous vehicle platforms.

The reports of a potential Waymo-Hyundai tie-up come one day after Karl Iagnemma, CEO of Motional, Hyundai's own autonomous driving subsidiary, said he would move into a senior strategy adviser role.

Currently, Waymo offers driverless commercial service in the Phoenix area and the Bay Area, including San Francisco, where Jaguar I-Pace EVs are deployed. It has embarked upon ambitious expansion plans and intends to begin service in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, in the months ahead. To date, the Zeekr robotaxi has been the platform driving that long-term growth.

The company said in August that it was averaging more than 100,000 driverless trips per week across its operations.