Geely unveils SEA-M platform for large driverless cars

Chinese car giant Geely has released fresh details of its new SEA-M architecture that will underpin fully autonomous vehicles such as family wagons, mobile offices and taxis.

Confirming that California-based Waymo will be among the first to use the Zeekr SEA-M platform, Geely said the need for the highly modified architecture reflects the different ways futuristic autonomous cars and robotaxis will be designed and used.

According to the car-maker, the need to modify the standard platform was driven by the desire to create a “mobile living room”.

To provide maximum space, engineers not only lengthened the wheelbase but also widened the axles to provide the greatest amount of flat floor space.

They also removed the traditional B-pillar to aid access to the cabin.

In the Waymo concept, the front and rear seats and the dashboard-mounted infotainment touch-screens can all move forward and backwards, creating more space as required.

As well as meeting the latest safety requirements, Geely says SEA-M can package batteries up to 140kWh that provide for an 800km-plus driving range, providing the opportunity for Waymo to offer a long-range driverless taxi service.

It could also allow a sleeper bed to be incorporated within the cabin.

Waymo is still to announce when it will introduce its fully autonomous taxi, but prototype vehicles are already being tested at Geely’s R&D facility in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Currently, Waymo is already running a fleet of highly modified Jaguar I-PACE and Chrysler Pacifica people-movers.

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