Fiat Chrysler and Google ink deal for Self-Driving cars

United States: Google and Chrysler has announced the agreement for making 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans for its much awaited self-driving cars project.

Concerned workforce of the two companies will co-locate at a facility in southeast Michigan to accelerate the design, testing and including installing sensors and software so that the van can drive themselves.

According to John Krafcik, CEO of Google self-driving car project, Chrysler has an experienced automobile engineering team and Pacifica Hybrid minivan is well suited for Google’ self-driving technology. This deal between the two companies doesn’t preclude either from cooperating with others.

The collaboration between the company is not the first experience of Google with hybrid cars. The current test fleet which consists of approximately 70 cars has vehicles such as Lexus RX 450h SUV and further addition of 100 minivans will increase the fleet by more than double. These autonomous minivans will be tested on a private track before being tested in public.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, Global Autonomous Car Technology Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2035 – ADAS, Semi-Autonomous, Fully-Autonomous”, global autonomous car technology market is expected to witness a CAGR of over 10% through 2035. The market is currently dominated by ADAS segment, which is expected to maintain its dominance over the next twenty years as well. The dominance of this segment can be attributed to anticipated increase in government regulations pertaining to integration of ADAS technologies in passenger cars. Further, semi-autonomous car technology is expected to witness robust growth over the next ten years, owing to anticipated decline in its average selling price coupled with rising volume sales. Region-wise, North America has emerged as the largest contributor in the market for autonomous car technology, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East North Africa (MENA).

As per TechSci Research, this collaboration is anticipated to enhance the competition for self-driving cars in the industry. The partnership of Google with Fiat Chrysler will encourage other leading automobile companies to invest in this concept in the upcoming years.