Waymo and AutoNation team up on self-driving-car program

Google spinoff Waymo is partnering with AutoNation Inc., the country’s largest auto dealership chain, in its push to produce self-driving cars for wide use.

AutoNation said Thursday that its dealerships will provide maintenance and repairs for Waymo’s self-driving fleet of Chrysler Pacifica vehicles. The agreement will include additional models of vehicles when Waymo brings them on line. Waymo — which used to be Google’s automated vehicle technology wing — still belongs to Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.

Terms of the multiyear deal were not disclosed.

Waymo started off with a fleet of 100 autonomous Pacificas and has announced plans to add 500. It is negotiating with other automakers, such as Honda, about autonomous vehicle systems, the company said.

The vehicles will probably be on the road for several hundred thousand miles, and will maintainence to accomplish that, AutoNation Chief Executive Mike Jackson said Thursday. The dealership chain, he said, has maintained more than 40 million vehicles.

“As Waymo moves to other markets and also puts other brands in service, we have expertise on any vehicle they want to put into service,” Jackson said.

Waymo has been partnering with a number of auto-related companies such as Fiat Chrysler, car-rental company Avis and ride-hailing company Lyft.

Since Google began working on self-driving vehicle technology in 2009, a wave of major players has joined the chase. General Motors and Ford, along with big technology companies including Apple and ride-hailing giant Uber, are developing their own technology.

Waymo is in a legal tussle with Uber, alleging that one of its former managers stole its trade secrets and took them along when he joined Uber in 2016. The trial is set to begin this year.

AutoNation, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., runs about 360 dealerships in the United States.