Waymo Inc. Thursday said it signed a deal with AutoNation Inc., the United States’ largest automotive dealer network, to provide support services for its self-driving car fleet.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but AutoNation’s 360 nationwide dealerships will provide maintenance and repairs for Waymo’s existing fleet of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica vehicles along with any future models Waymo adds to its fleet. The company already has a small number of Lexus test vehicles in Silicon Valley, but these are not currently planned to be part of Waymo’s larger testing program.

According to a press release, AutoNation’s support will include “complex mechanical and cosmetic repairs to maintain Waymo’s self-driving fleet.” However, it would appear that the support will not extend to the self-driving vehicle technology itself, the same as was the case with a similar maintenance deal Waymo signed with Avis Budget Group in June.

Although it’s clearly a step forward for Waymo in terms of deploying a fleet of self-driving vehicles nationwide, the deal is also a boost for AutoNation. Like other car retailers, its sales are declining as at least some consumers switch from car ownership to raid-hailing options such as those offered by Uber Inc. and Lyft Inc. “Dealerships and aftermarket auto retailers also face a long-term threat to their lucrative parts and service businesses as online retailers like Amazon.com Inc. encroach,” Bloomberg noted.

Waymo’s announcement of the deal with AutoNation came days after the company held a press event at its secretive test facility in California’s Central Valley to demonstrate their latest advances in self-driving car technology. Journalists were shuttled around the facility in driverless vehicles over grounds that are crisscrossed by roads with traffic lights, intersections, a railroad crossing and other sights that one would expect to see on a real highway, in an attempt to simulate real-world conditions.

From all reports, the demonstrated self-driving car technology worked as advertised. Waymo Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik said the company, a division of Google LLC owner Alphabet Inc., was getting close to commercializing the technology.

Photo: Mark Doliner/Wikimedia Commons