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You remember last week when we all laughed when Fiat's Sergio Marchionne said he could make a Tesla Model 3 rival in 12 months if he felt like it? Yeah, maybe we shouldn't have been laughing so much...
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) have announced a team-up with our omnipotent internet overlords, Google, to work together on autonomous, self-driving cars. The first fruits of that project will be Google self-driving tech fitted to the new Chrysler Pacifica MPV (which we sadly don't get on this side of the Atlantic) which will be used to expand Google's robot car research. Although Google has previously fitted its tech to Toyotas, Lexus and the occasional Audi, this is the first factory-based tie-up between a major car maker and the internet giant.
The move will pretty much double Google's current on-road robot car testing fleet, and needless to say the two firms will work on their own specialist areas. Fiat-Chrysler will tweak the Pacificas in the factory to Google's precise specifications, while Google will in turn modify its systems to seamlessly fit with the Pacifica. A special facility in Michigan, U.S., will be setup to bring Chrysler engineers and Google boffins together.
"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. "The opportunity to work closely with FCA engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer and bring everyday destinations within reach for those who cannot drive."
"Working with Google provides an opportunity for FCA to partner with one of the world's leading technology companies to accelerate the pace of innovation in the automotive industry," said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, FCA. "The experience both companies gain will be fundamental to delivering automotive technology solutions that ultimately have far-reaching consumer benefits."
Google's self-driving project, which grew out of a senior engineer losing a close friend in a car crash and vowing to use tech to help eliminate accidents, has now been running for seven years with more than 2.4-million kilometres of on-road testing. So far, only one Google car has been involved in an accident which was the computer's fault, and that was a low-speed ding involving a bus.
Fiat-Chrysler claims that "self-driving cars have the potential to prevent some of the 33,000 deaths that occur each year on U.S. roads, 94 per cent of which are caused by human error. This collaboration will help FCA and Google better understand what it will take to bring self-driving cars into the world."
It's not yet known how much deeper the alliance with Google will go, if at all. Marchionne had been known to be courting Apple to position Fiat-Chrysler as a possible partner for its long-gestating car project, but the Google tie-up seems to have leapfrogged that proposal. Will we see ever-closer ties between Google and Fiat? Is this the beginning of the merger that Marchionne has long fought for to secure Fiat's future? Or is it just a relatively simple vehicle supply contract, a fleet deal with robotic knobs on?