Volvo Cars and ride-sharing company Uber will join forces to develop autonomous driving (AD) cars.
The two companies have signed an agreement to develop base vehicles that will be able to incorporate the latest developments in AD technologies, up to and including, fully autonomous driverless cars.
The base vehicles will be manufactured by Volvo Cars and then purchased from Volvo by Uber.
Volvo Cars and Uber are contributing a combined $300-million to the project.
Both Uber and Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of their own autonomous car strategies.
This will involve Uber adding its own self-developed AD systems to the Volvo base vehicle, with Volvo then using the same base vehicle for the next stage of its own autonomous car strategy, which will involve fully autonomous driving.
The base vehicle will be developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular scalable product architecture (SPA).
SPA is currently used on Volvo Cars’ XC90 sports-utility vehicle, as well as the S90 sedan and V90 estate.
“Over one-million people die in car accidents every year,” says Uber CE Travis Kalanick.
“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.”
“We are very proud to be the partner of choice for Uber…This alliance places Volvo at the heart of the current technological revolution in the automotive industry,” adds Volvo Cars president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson.
Uber has also announced its acquisition of Otto, a startup developing self-driving technology for trucks.