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The pilot, though modest — about 12 vehicles — places the GM vans among a fleet that includes vehicles built by Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Rivian.

The Detroit-based automaker will keep three shifts at its factory in Oshawa, Ontario, until at least Jan. 30.

General Motors is one of the carmakers to agree to a multiyear pact.

“We’re accelerating the development of autonomous driving technology capable of operating without active human oversight,” spokeswoman Chaiti Sen said in a statement.

“To stay competitive, GM will temporarily source these packs from similar suppliers to power our most affordable EV model,” the company said in a statement.

The two companies also will develop four vehicles for Central and South American markets.

U.S. auto safety regulators granted an exemption to federal vehicle safety standards for purpose-built driverless cars made by Zoox, the Transportation Department said in a statement.

The latest agreement and two others will allow GM to get the majority of rare-earth magnets it sources directly from domestic suppliers.

U.S. automakers face a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on parts and finished vehicles, with some exceptions for products covered under the USMCA that went into effect in 2020.

“The top-down macro evidence seems clear: Americans are mostly paying for the tariffs,” George Saravelos, global head of FX research at Deutsche Bank.