Fiat Chrysler Partnering With Google In New Driverless Car Deal


Google is making strides with its plan to get driverless cars freely roaming our roads and in order to fuel that plan, the technology giant has announced a new deal with Fiat Chrysler to double the size of their driverless fleet. In order to assist Google in developing their new technology, Fiat Chrysler has agreed to supply the tech firm with 100 Chrysler Pacifica vans that will be integrated with Google’s current driver-free technology. According to BBC News, the deal marks an interesting partnership between Silicon Valley and a traditional car manufacturer.

For a good while now, Google has been looking to expand its fleet of driverless cars in order to conduct more testing out on the road before striking a deal with Fiat Chrysler to supply those cars. Google has, in the past, been known to use its own Google-branded vehicles to test their driverless technology, but associating a brand like Fiat Chrysler with the technology is sure to increase awareness and build trust in driverless cars.

According to Reuters, Fiat Chrysler has taken a very different approach to driverless vehicles than many of their competitors. Whilst the likes of BMW and Ford have invested in developing their own driverless technology, cash-strapped Fiat has instead turned to Google to assist the technology giant in their progress. Fiat Chrysler has made it clear that the driverless car industry is far too risky right now, but supplying Google with cars from the Chrysler range could mean that they’re able to get their foot in the door with little risk.

A previous model of Google's Self-Driving Car
A previous model of Google’s Self-Driving Car [Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
It also appears that the deal means Fiat Chrysler engineers will be working closely with Google to develop their driverless technology in the future. Speaking about introducing Fiat Chrysler to their driverless team, Google’s head of self-driving cars, John Krafcik said that “the opportunity to work closely with [Fiat Chrysler] engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer.”

The new deal between Google and Fiat Chrysler isn’t binding, however. Google will own all 100 cars that Fiat Chrysler has provided for testing the technology and both companies will also be free to work with others when it comes to developing driverless technology. That being said, the deal could suggest that Google will turn to Fiat Chrysler in the future when it comes to manufacturing their technology for consumers. Google believes that they’ll have driverless cars ready to go on sale by 2020.

Developing their own driverless technology isn’t a viable option for Fiat Chrysler right now. The Italian-American multinational firm is the seventh-largest automaker on the planet. Despite this, Fiat Chrysler currently has a net debt pile of 6.6 billion euros and is currently searching for further manufacturers to merge with. However, the possibility that Google could use Fiat Chrysler vehicles as the base of their driverless technology in the future provides welcome news for the company, which is struggling to tackle competition from across the globe.

https://twitter.com/betiforex_com/status/724493186849230848

Despite comprising of two of the most established car manufacturing names on the planet, Fiat Chrysler is still a relatively new name on the automobile scene. The group was established in 2014 following the merger of the Italian firm, Fiat Group, and the American firm, Chrysler LLC. Whilst the group has seen some success following the merger, Fiat Chrysler is still actively looking for further manufacturers to merge with.

This new partnership is exciting news for both Fiat Chrysler and Google and as aforementioned, could lead to Fiat Chrysler Google-powered self-driving cars available to consumers by 2020. However, Google still has a good way to go in making their driverless technology appealing to the general population.

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]

Share this article: Fiat Chrysler Partnering With Google In New Driverless Car Deal
More from Inquisitr