Waymo LLC has found itself two powerful new allies in the auto industry.

The Alphabet Inc. subsidiary, Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. today announced a collaboration to explore the launch of autonomous mobility services in international markets. They will focus on two markets in particular: Renault’s home country of France and Japan, where Nissan is headquartered.

The partnership announcement specified that the alliance is exclusive but only for an “initial period.” That suggests it’s more of a pilot project than a long-term collaboration effort, although that could change. 

Waymo, Renault and Nissan plan to start the initiative by mapping out the various issues that would have to be addressed to bring mobility services to market. The research effort will cover everything from relevant regulatory factors to commercialization hurdles. Renault and Nissan will set up new ventures in their respective home countries to support joint activities.

The automakers and Waymo said they may expand the partnership to additional markets over time, with China being one candidate. But they didn’t go into too much detail about exactly what kind of services could be delivered as part of the alliance, or when.

The companies only specified that they will explore “all aspects of driverless mobility services for passengers and deliveries.” This latter element of the alliance might involve Waymo’s autonomous trucks. Waymo has been testing self-driving tractor trailers since 2017 and last March started using them to haul freight bound for Google LLC data centers.

The Alphabet subsidiary also operates an autonomous taxi service in Chandler, Arizona, that it could potentially expand internationally with the help of its new partners. Turning the collaboration with Renault and Nissan into a long-term alliance would represent a major win for Waymo.

Together with Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the two automakers are part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which ranks as the world’s largest maker of  light vehicles. The companies together produce about one in every nine automobiles sold worldwide. Besides helping with Waymo’s go-to-market efforts, the consortium might potentially play a role in its reported plan to raise outside capital. 

Photo: Waymo