• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, June 20, 2019

In the continuing effort to create and popularize self-driving cars, Waymo, Nissan Motor Company and Group Renault are joining forces in an exclusive arrangement.

The team plans to explore “all aspects of driverless mobility services” targeted for passengers and packages in France and Japan.

To create driverless transportation as a service, the group intends to work together to research regulatory, legal and commercial issues, according to an announcement.

“The Alliance of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, with a global footprint and portfolio covering every segment of passenger and light commercial vehicles, is uniquely suited to join this business exploration with Waymo, a self-driving technology company building the world’s most experienced driver with more than 10 million miles on public roads,” states the announcement.

The work will start in France and Japan, home to Groupe Renault and Nissan headquarters, and then expand to other markets in the future.

Waymo recently partnered with Lyft to add 10 Waymo vehicles onto the Lyft platform so that Phoenix area residents can select a Waymo self-driving car directly from the Lyft app.