Waymo announced late yesterday that it will integrate its Waymo Driver into a version of a new mobility-focused, all-electric Zeekr vehicle designed in Sweden specially for autonomous ride-hailing.

Since it began as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has been focused on building the Waymo Driver, which it calls the “World’s Most Experienced Driver,” to improve everyone’s access to mobility while saving thousands of lives lost to traffic crashes. The autonomous driving technology company is on a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going, committing to expanding access to sustainable transportation. Deploying the Zeekr-based fully autonomous, electric ride-hailing vehicles in the U.S. is an important step as it electrifies its Waymo One fleet.

Geely Holding Group’s premium electric brand Zeekr was founded in early 2021 as a global technology-mobility brand, with its design and engineering resources in Sweden. Its first model, the Zeekr 001, was introduced in April 2021, with deliveries starting in October.

“Zeekr was born on the ideals of equality, diversity, and sustainability,” said Andy An, CEO, Zeekr Technology. “By becoming a strategic partner and vehicle supplier to the Waymo One fleet, we will be able to share our experience, ideas, and provide our expertise in collaborating on a fully electric vehicle that fits Waymo’s requirements for this rapidly expanding segment in the global market for sustainable travel.”

Waymo says that “over years to come,” the Waymo Driver will be integrated into a transportation-as-a-service (TaaS)-optimized Zeekr vehicle designed to prioritize the comfort, convenience, and preferences of Waymo One riders. The “rider-first” vehicle features a flat floor for more accessible entry, easy ingress, and egress thanks to a B-pillarless design and low step-in height. Waymo One riders will experience an interior without steering wheel and pedals, and with plenty of headroom and legroom, reclining seats, screens, and chargers within arm’s reach, in an easy to configure and comfortable vehicle cabin—all while ensuring a level of safety consistent with U.S. federal vehicle standards.

The new purpose-built mobility vehicle is being designed and developed at Zeekr’s CEVT (China Europe Vehicle Technology Centre) R&D facility in Gothenburg, Sweden, which has developed class-leading vehicles for the Geely Holding Group. For the Waymo collaboration, Zeekr will be designing and developing the future vehicle on a new proprietary and open-source mobility architecture. Waymo will take delivery of the vehicles in the U.S. and then integrate its fully autonomous Waymo Driver into the vehicle platform.

Zeekr says that the new vehicle will be designed to be rider-centric from the outset, setting a new benchmark for autonomous vehicles. The new vehicle has been designed for autonomous use-cases and will come with a fully configurable cabin, both with and without driver controls, that can be tailored towards rider requirements for the Waymo One fleet.

The Zeekr collaboration is just the latest announcement in a milestone year for Waymo. The company began serving riders in San Francisco, with fully electric Jaguar I-Paces equipped to handle the complexities of driving in dense urban areas, and it scaled its Waymo One service in Arizona to serve tens of thousands of rider-only trips.

It also expanded its Waymo Via trucking and delivery operations and partnered with Daimler Truck to build what it says is the world’s first Class 8 trucks to allow operation with no human driver behind the wheel. The new Level 4 Class 8 Freightliner Cascadia truck with redundant features will be integrated with the fifth generation of the Waymo Driver. Waymo Via’s Chrysler Pacifica minivans helped deliver packages locally for partners including UPS.