Volvo to build Uber’s autonomous car

Volvo and Uber have entered a $411 million joint venture to develop fully autonomous driverless cars.

This type of partnership heralds the way in which the global automotive industry is evolving in response to new technologies – and follows General Motor’s deal with service Lyft and Ford’s announcement this week of its own ride-sharing self-driving car.

Both companies will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of their own autonomous car strategies. This will see Uber adding its own “self-developed” autonomous driving systems to the vehicle.  

The new base vehicle will be developed on Volvo’s fully modular scalable product architecture (SPA). SPA car architecture, part of Volvo’s $15 billion global industrial transformation programme in 2010 for autonomous drive technologies and electrification and connectivity developments, is used on Volvo’s XC90 SUV and its S90 premium sedan and V90 premium estate.

The project will further add to the scalability of the SPA platform to include all safety, redundancy and new features required to have autonomous vehicles on the road.

Volvo Cars New Zealand national manager Coby Duggan says Volvo has a history of forming synergistic partnerships which integrate new types of technology into vehicles, and that this partnership will “blend revolutionary technologies”.

Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick points out that over one million people die in car accidents every year, which self-driving technology can reduce.

Volvo Cars New Zealand national manager Coby Duggan says Volvo has a history of forming synergistic partnerships which integrate new types of technology into vehicles, and that this partnership will “blend revolutionary technologies”.

Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick points out that over one million people die in car accidents every year, which self-driving technology can reduce.