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Volvo-Uber deal for ‘tens of thousands’ of autonomous driving compatible cars steps up bid for ride-sharing market leadership

Volvo Uber autonomous
A Volvo-supplied autonomous-driving Uber ride-sharing car

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20 November 2017

A VOLVO-Uber deal for ‘tens of thousands’ of autonomous driving compatible base cars between 2019 and 2021 steps up Volvo’s bid for ride-sharing market leadership.

The base vehicles are developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular, in-house-developed Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). SPA is currently used on Volvo Cars’ top-of-the-line 90 series cars as well as on the new XC60 mid-size SUV.

The non-exclusive agreement enhances the strategic partnership between Volvo Cars and Uber announced in August 2016. It also marks a new chapter in the convergence of car makers and Silicon Valley-based technology companies.

A year ago Uber was conducting trials with self-driving Volvos in California.

President and chief executive of Volvo Cars Hakan Samuelsson said:

“The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology, and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption. Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for AD ride-sharing service providers globally. Today’s agreement with Uber is a primary example of that strategic direction.”

Volvo Cars’ engineers have worked closely together with engineers from Uber to develop the XC90 premium SUVs that are to be supplied to Uber. The base vehicles incorporate all the necessary safety, redundancy and core autonomous-driving technologies that are required for Uber to add its own self-driving technology.

Uber head of auto alliances  Jeff Miller said:

“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Volvo. This new agreement puts us on a path towards mass-produced self-driving vehicles at scale.”

At the same time as providing Uber with AD-compatible cars, Volvo will use the same base vehicle in the development of its own independent autonomous-car strategy, which is planned to culminate in the release of its first fully autonomous car in 2021.

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