Volvo announced on Thursday that it has inked a $300 million deal with ride-hailing service Uber to develop autonomous vehicles. Volvo said the two firms will work together to “to incorporate the latest developments in AD technologies, up to and including fully autonomous driverless cars.” When the cars are completed, Uber will buy them from Volvo.
The news follows hot on the heals of a separate announcement, in which Uber is testing self-driving Volvo XC90 SUVs in Pittsburgh.
“Over one million people die in car accidents every year,” Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said. “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.” Indeed, Volvo is a leader in the space. Separately, the firm’s “Volvo Vision 2020” initiative is working toward making sure no drive or rider in its cars is seriously injured by the year 2020.
The deal will be beneficial to both companies. Volvo has been working on autonomous vehicles for years now, incorporating new technologies into its latest cars that keep drivers safer than before. Uber, on the other hand, has been searching for a partner to autonomous vehicles; talks with Ford fell apart, according to reports.
Volvo said it will build a “base” car that will be used for its own autonomous vehicle endeavors, as well as Uber’s. Engineers from both firms will work on the new vehicle, which will be based on Volvo’s “Scalable Product Architecture,” which Volvo said was used as the foundation for cars such as the V90, S90 and XC90.
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