• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • First Look: Kia Pushes Boundaries with New EV9
  • Lucid Moves to Cut 1,300 Employees
  • Rebooted Meyers Manx Returns to Its Racing Roots, Sponsors NORRA 1000 Race
  • Spring Cleaning Includes Your Car
  • Fifty Million Apartment Dwellers Need a Way to Plug In
  • Tesla Back in Court on $137M Race Discrimination Suit
  • E-Fuels Provide a Lifeline for Ferrari and Porsche
  • Upstart Fain Sworn in as UAW President on Eve of Bargaining Convention
  • Week Ahead: UAW Gets a New Leader
  • The Rearview Mirror: Ford’s High-End Failure
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S
    • A Week With: 2023 Infiniti QX80
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo
    • First Drive: 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
    • First Drive: 2023 Dodge Hornet GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70
    • First Drive: 2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Jeep Compass Limited
    • A Week With: 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series
    • A Week With: 2023 Volvo XC40 AWD Ultimate
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Waymo to Build Self-Driving Cars in Michigan

        Waymo to Build Self-Driving Cars in Michigan

        Company in the market for a used auto plant.

        Michael Strong
        Michael Strong , Managing Editor
        Jan. 22, 2019
        Waymo is moving east to Michigan to build Level 4 autonomous vehicles in metro Detroit.

        More and more automakers looking to develop their autonomous vehicles are finding their way to Michigan, and now add Waymo to the list. The Google spinoff plans to produce robot cars at a to-be-determined location in southeast Michigan.

        The company has been testing its self-driving vehicles largely in the southwest, and had planned to find a cold weather state (i.e. a state with snow) to continue testing. However, this plant will be the first-ever site to churn out Level 4 autonomous vehicles.

        News Now!

        “Waymo will first identify a facility in Southeast Michigan and, over the next few years, aim to create hundreds of local jobs in the community,” the company said in a statement. “We’ll be looking for engineers, operations experts and fleet coordinators to join our team and help assemble and deploy our self-driving cars.” 

        Waymo, which already has partnerships with Fiat Chrysler and Jaguar to produce vehicles, claims this new site is not in conflict with those two deals.

        (Waymo kicks off autonomous taxi and ride-sharing service. Click Here for the story.)

        Could GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center be the home for Waymo's first-ever Level 4 vehicle assembly plant?

        “Waymo develops hardware and software in-house so that our full self-driving technology works as a seamless, single system,” Alexis Georgeson, a Waymo spokesperson, told the Detroit Free Press.

        “A vital part of that process is integrating our self-driving system into the vehicles we purchase for our fleet, including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Jaguar Land Rover. Integration of the Waymo Driver will happen at our new Michigan facility with our existing OEM partners and vehicles.”

        The company is searching for a 200,000 square-foot plant space with room for expansion, according to a memo from the Michigan Business Development Program. The plant will have somewhere between 100 and 400 employees, depending upon the scope of work and will call for a $13.6 million investment by Waymo.

        (Click Here for more about Waymo testing in California.)

        Coming to southeast Michigan makes plenty of sense for Waymo as it will be partnering with megasupplier Magna on the development and production of these new, self-driving vehicles. Magna’s produced vehicles for other companies, including Fiat Chrysler and BMW.

        A Waymo-modified Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.

        Aside from the ability to test in a cold-weather environment, currently there are several unused auto factories that may be available for purchase. In fact, General Motors is adding two more to those ranks in the near term.

        GM spokesman Pat Morrissey told the Free Press that “any discussion on the status of the plant beyond the build-out of the current products is a matter discussed in UAW-GM negotiations.” The UAW would be happy to help Waymo find a plant in southeast Michigan, according to Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for the UAW, including GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck site.

        (To see more about the “lack of trust” in self-driving tech, Click Here.)

        “Our focus is to leave no stone unturned to keep the Hamtramck plant open,” Rothenberg told the paper.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        Kia EV9 front 3-4

        First Look: Kia Pushes Boundaries with New EV9

        Today
        Lucid pre-delivery inspecton line Sept 2021

        Lucid Moves to Cut 1,300 Employees

        Today
        Meyers Manx on the NORRA 1000 2022

        Rebooted Meyers Manx Returns to Its Racing Roots, Sponsors NORRA 1000 Race

        Today

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: