Google and FCA are allegedly partnering up in a ride-sharing outfit featuring autonomous Chrysler Pacificas.
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, apparently plans to start a ride-sharing service using Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NA’s minivans as part of a reorganization of the tech company’s automotive unit, new reports suggest.
The ride-sharing initiative would signal a deepening of the relationship that was launched last spring, Google will deploy a semi-autonomous version of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan that it’s developing with FCA for a new service as early as the end of 2017. Both Alphabet and Fiat Chrysler declined to comment on their plans, according to Bloomberg.
Developing ride-sharing services has become a priority for automakers during the past couple of years.
Earlier this week, Honda said it planned to make a significant investment in GrabTaxi Holdings Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based ride-hailing service, which is seeking to compete with Uber Technologies Inc.in Southeast Asia.
(Google focusing solely on autonomous technology. Click Here for the story.)
The deal with Honda comes less than two weeks after Grab unveiled a tie-up with Japan’s top car-leasing company, Tokyo Century Corp. In September, SoftBank, which owns U.S. carrier Sprint Corp., led a $750 million Series F funding round for Grab, which was co-founded by Anthony Tan, at $3 billion.
Might the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid be getting a new purely battery-electric sibling? Rumor is the EV concept will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show not the Detroit Auto Show.
Alphabet has sub-divided its autonomous company into a new venture called Waymo and said the “next step will be to let people use our vehicles to do everyday things like run errands, commute to work, or get safely home after a night on the town.”
John Krafcik, chief executive officer of Waymo, said the company is adding new sensors to Chrysler vehicles now, but didn’t comment on how program has evolved. “FCA has been a wonderful partner,” Krafcik told reporters in San Francisco.
(Click Here for details about FCA’s plans to unveil an all-electric Pacifica at CES.)
For the new service, Google will need more than the 100 Pacificas it originally agreed to develop with Fiat Chrysler back in May, when FCA announced the plans to create 100 prototypes based on the Pacifica hybrid-powered minivan for an extensive test of Google’s emerging self-driving technology.
Fiat Chrysler was the first automaker enter into a partnership with Google for self-driving vehicle technology. FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne has said he believes partnership are vital to the development of new technology.
General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Nissan and Mercedes-Benz among have indicated a preference for proprietary systems that don’t leave them at the mercy of Silicon Valley in the race to cash-in on the self-driving technology.
(Click Here for TDB’s first drive in the new Chrysler Pacifica.)
FCA is also planning to unveil a battery-electric vehicle based on the Pacifica platform at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month as it pushes for a role in the car industry’s shift toward battery-powered models, people familiar with the matter said last week.