Waymo said Wednesday it would team up with UPS to test its autonomous vehicles for the package delivery giant.

The two firms said they would collaborate on the project to shuttle packages from UPS Stores in the Phoenix, Arizona, area to the UPS Tempe hub, initially with a trained operator in the car to take over in emergencies.

The pilot project is designed to "explore customer and operational benefits and illustrate how the Waymo Driver can deliver on behalf of clients safely, efficiently, and, eventually, at scale," said a statement from Waymo, a unit of Google parent Alphabet.

"We're confident this strategic partnership with UPS will help us deliver on our goal to improve customer service and network efficiency, and ultimately, make roads safer," said Waymo chief operating officer Tekedra Mawakana.

Waymo will be using its autonomous vehicles -- with a safety driver for now -- for parcel deliveries as part of a collaboration with UPS
Waymo will be using its autonomous vehicles -- with a safety driver for now -- for parcel deliveries as part of a collaboration with UPS AFP / Glenn CHAPMAN

Waymo is among several firms testing self-driving vehicles and is believed to be the first to go fully driverless for some of its ridesharing operations in the Phoenix area.

UPS said separately it was ordering 10,000 electric vehicles with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and the potential for autonomous operations and was making an investment in the British-based startup making the vehicles, Arrival.

"UPS continues to build an integrated fleet of electric vehicles, combined with innovative, large-scale fleet charging technology," said Juan Perez, UPS chief information and engineering officer.

"Taking an active investment role in Arrival enables UPS to collaborate on the design and production of the world's most advanced electric delivery vehicles."