As demand for self-autonomous vehicles continues to surge at a rapid pace, it comes as no surprise that Volvo Car Corp and ride hailing giant, Uber, have decided to collaborate in a bid to develop self-autonomous vehicles. The companies have signed an agreement according to which they will invest $300 million to develop fully autonomous vehicles by 2021.
“Both Uber and Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of their own autonomous car strategies,” the companies said in a joint statement. “This will involve Uber adding its own self-developed autonomous driving systems to the Volvo base vehicle. Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of its own autonomous car strategy, which will involve fully autonomous driving.”
As per the terms of the agreement, both firms will initially work to develop self-driving capabilities for Volvo’s flagship car, XC90 SUV. Volvo and Uber said the deal will help both companies to form “longer term industrial partnership.”
Uber’s efforts to develop self-autonomous vehicles are not new. In 2015, the ride hailing giant hired a group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and brought hackers on-board in efforts to develop self-autonomous technology.
It has become increasingly common for car manufacturers like Volvo to sign partnership agreements with ride-hailing services such as Uber, as they place a hedge over declining personal-car ownership. Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) agreed to invest approximately half a million dollars in a ride-hailing service — Lyft — in a bid to develop driverless technology for GM’s Chevy Volt.
Even though Volvo will lend vehicles to Uber, the car-maker plans to develop its own self-autonomous system. Uber, on the other hand, is intent to continue its partnership with other automakers such as Toyota and Ford.
