Volvo has announced a partnership with the ride-sharing company Uber to develop fully autonomous cars together. In this joint project, Volvo will manufacture the base vehicles which will then be bought by Uber. The two companies are each investing $300 million towards this project. Uber’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, said: “Over one million people die in car accidents every year. These are tragedies that self-driving technology can help solve, but we can’t do this alone.
“That’s why our partnership with a great manufacturer like Volvo is so important. Volvo is a leader in vehicle development and best in class when it comes to safety. By combining the capabilities of Uber and Volvo we will get to the future faster, together.”
The Volvo-Uber deal allows both companies to pool their resources together and capitalize on the strengths of each other. For its part, Volvo will send over XC90 SUVs to Uber, which in turn will install its autonomous driving system that the company itself is developing for use in its ride-sharing service. Volvo will then use the vehicles with Uber’s self-driving tech for its own strategic purpose. The partnership covers hardware and software developments aimed at addressing important issues surrounding autonomous driving, particularly the safety and security of a system that is poised to redefine the entire auto industry moving forward. Both Volvo and Uber are also seen as 50/50 partners in this endeavor and whatever technology is developed for the purpose of this collaboration will be shared to the other party.
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.
