Fiat, Google Partner On First Self-Driving Minivans

(RTTNews) - Google will collaborate with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. to integrate Google's self-driving technology into the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans.

The collaboration will expand Google's existing self-driving test program and incorporate its self-driving technology into 100 Chrysler minivans. It also marks the first time that Google will be working directly with an automaker to integrate its self-driving system, including its sensors and software, into a passenger vehicle.

Google has said earlier that it hopes to form partnerships with many automakers and suppliers as it develops self-driving cars to reduce traffic accidents and expand mobility for elderly and disabled people. Fiat Chrysler is the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales.

The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans will be used later this year for Google's self-driving testing, more than doubling Google's current fleet of self-driving test vehicles. The current fleet consists of a few dozen Lexus SUVs modified by Google.

Fiat Chrysler will initially design and engineer around 100 vehicles uniquely built for Google's self-driving technology. Google will integrate the suite of sensors and computers that the vehicles will rely on to navigate roads autonomously.

The two companies said they will co-locate part of their engineering teams at a facility in southeastern Michigan to accelerate the design, testing and manufacturing of the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica. Both the companies will share the engineering responsibilities, based on their respective expertise.

The self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans will be tested by Google's self-driving car team on its private test track in California, prior to operating on public roads.

John Krafcik, chief executive officer of Google Self-Driving Car Project, said, "FCA has a nimble and experienced engineering team and the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan is well-suited for Google's self-driving technology."

Self-driving cars have the potential to prevent some of the 33,000 deaths that occur each year on U.S. roads, 94 percent of which are caused by human error.

Google's self-driving cars are currently being tested in four U.S. cities - Mountain View in California, Austin in Texas, Kirkland in Washington; and Phoenix in Arizona.

In the project's seven year history, the vehicles in the test fleet have self-driven over 1.5 million miles on public roads, with only one at-fault accident reported in February this year.