The two companies announced the partnership in a statement today, saying in part that FCA will “initially design and engineer around 100 vehicles uniquely built for Google’s self-driving technology”.
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The vehicles will not be offered for sale to the public.
Stop the presses on this one: Google is going to start working with Chrysler on their new Pacifica mini-van.
Google’s self-driving cars are now being tested in four USA cities.
The announcement marks the first time that Google has partnered directly with an automaker to integrate its technology into a regular production vehicle.
Fiat itself won’t license any of Google’s self-driving technology and the deal is non exclusive for either company. Naturally, representatives for both companies have declined to comment on the report. Again, the big story was SUVs: The all-new MKX, a sibling to the latest midsize Ford Edge, almost doubled year-ago sales of the old model, while the compact MKC crossover was up 51% over its sales in April of last year.
As part of this deal, the two companies will each assign a group of engineers who will work together, at a site in southeastern MI, to design, engineer and test the self-driving people carrier.
Sales to individual consumers also appear to be slowing, so automakers are relying more on less profitable sales to rental-car companies and other fleets.
By adding 100 Pacifica minivans to Google’s test fleet of self-driving cars, which already includes Lexus RX crossovers and Google’s own prototypes, the number of cars available to Google for testing will more than double.
Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who mentioned a possible partnership with Google in December, has been directly involved in talks with the California-based technology giant, sources said.
Google is widely expected to “graduate” the self-driving auto project from X into its own company soon, which would create revenue pressure.
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“FCA has a nimble and experienced engineering team and the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan is well-suited for Google’s self-driving technology”, said John Krafcik, Chief Executive Officer, Google Self-Driving Car Project. In a world where the vehicle is doing more of the driving task, we are also asking questions of ourselves how we train people to drive in cars like that.
