Google is spinning off its self-driving car program into a new company called Waymo

On December 1, 2016,Google announced that it would be spinning off its six-year-old self-driving project into a standalone business called Waymo, which stands for “a new way forward in mobility,” according to John Krafcik, the CEO of the new company.

It waspreviously reportedthat Google would be dropping its plan to build its own vehicle without steering wheels and pedals踏板, instead focusing on creating the self-driving technology that can be installed in third-party vehicles. Krafcik didn’t provide much clarity there, but did state definitively that the new company was still fully committed to fully autonomous vehicle technology.

“We are all in, 100 percent, on Level Four and Level Five fully driverless solutions,” he said.

Krafcik didn’t comment on a report inBloombergthat Google would be starting its own ride-sharing service in partnership with Fiat Chrysler using the Italian car maker’s Pacifica minivans as its fleet of self-driving taxis.Google and FCA announced their collaboration earlier this year. Krafcik did confirm that the self-driving Pacificas were still in the build phase, but would hopefully be on the road for testing very soon.

It may be too soon to say that Google is abandoning its plans to build it’s own fleet of driverless cars, without steering wheels and pedals. That said, Krafcik made it clear that Waymo “is not a car company, there’s been some confusion on that point. We’re not in business of making better cars, we’re in the business of making better drivers.”

Krafcik disclosed that back in October 2015, one of Google’s fully autonomous vehicles with no steering wheel or pedals drove around on public roads in Austin, Texas. Steve Mahan, an Austin resident who has been blind since 2004, was the passenger in Google’s historic trip. “It is like riding with a very good driver,” he said.