The US-Italy car maker Fiat Chrysler and tech giant Google have joined forces to double the search engine fleet for self-driving cars.
Fiat-Chrysler would provide some 100 self-driving prototypes based on the carmaker’s Pacifica hybrid minivan, the companies said. As per BBC, the deal marks Google’s first partnership with a major carmaker. As the search engine looks to increase its fleet size for more road testing.
“The opportunity to work closely with [Fiat] engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer," said John Krafcik, Google's head of self-driving cars.
Google has previously stated that driverless cars could be ready to go on sale by 2020.
"Minivans fit into the transportation fleets easily," said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. "They can be a box-on-wheels and can move more humans around," he added.
As per Bloomberg, this is not the first time that Google seeks partnership with a major car manufacturer, a deal with General Motors Co. couldn’t be finalized due to disagreements over ownership of technology and data, said a person familiar with the matter.
The report further added that the partnership could be fruitful for both players, as Google, which needs more cars to develop and test its autonomous technology. However, it is not interested in investing into building some infrastructure.
Whereas, Fiat has got the opportunity to learn about this new technology, which in coming days could help the carmaker be a big part of the transportation business, said Maryann Keller, an independent auto-industry consultant in Stamford, Connecticut.
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