Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, has entered into a partnership with Renault and Nissan to work together on self-driving mobility services in France and Japan, as was expected to happen.

The trio will look to research ‘commercial, legal, and regulatory issues’ surrounding autonomous transportation-as-a-service offerings in France and Japan.

“This is an ideal opportunity for Waymo to bring our autonomous technology to a global stage, with an innovative partner,” said John Krafcik, Waymo CEO. “With the Alliance’s international reach and scale, our Waymo Driver can deliver transformational mobility solutions to safely serve riders and commercial deliveries in France, Japan, and other countries.”

Waymo has already formed similar partnerships with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Jaguar Land Rover. However, this is the car unit’s biggest deal yet with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance achieving combined global sales of 10.8m vehicles in 2018.

“We believe this partnership will accelerate our commitment to deliver new shared mobility services and benefit the automobile ecosystems by placing us at the forefront of driverless mobility new business streams in our key strategic markets,” said Thierry Bolloré, Groupe Renault CEO.

Hiroto Saikawa, president and CEO of Nissan, added: “Our expertise in the global automotive industry and expertise in strategic partnership will enable us to explore opportunities to grow our portfolio and deliver new value to customers with Waymo, the recognised leader in this space.”