Waymo has tapped fleet management company Element to help keep its robotaxis charged, maintained, and on the road as the company expands into more cities.

The multi-year partnership will start in San Diego and could expand to additional markets over time. While Waymo continues to run its driverless ride-hailing service through the Waymo app and oversees the performance of its autonomous driving system, Element will handle much of the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the fleet running.

That includes vehicle lifecycle management, charging infrastructure, energy management, maintenance coordination, and fleet optimization.

As Waymo grows, managing thousands of vehicles across multiple cities becomes a massive operational challenge. It’s not just about the self-driving technology – the cars need to be charged, maintained, repaired, and kept in service.

The deal gives Waymo a partner focused on fleet operations while it concentrates on expanding its robotaxi service and refining the Waymo Driver autonomous driving system.

“Scaling autonomous mobility requires partners with proven operational discipline and global fleet expertise,” said Nicole Gavel, head of business development and strategic partnerships at Waymo. “Element brings the infrastructure, execution, and scale needed to deploy and operate Waymo’s fleet reliably.”

Read more: Waymo’s retired robotaxi batteries are heading back to work

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