The top thing in the tech world is discussing self-driving cars on the road. Recently we heard about Waymo carrying test on roads. Now here is one more to go, as Uber is joining hands with Volvo in order to bring driverless cabs to their users.
We are somewhere eagerly waiting for these days to come soon when we are having a ride with self-driving cars. On one side, Uber is planning to bring 24000 Volvo self-driving cars on the road, and on another side, we all have a question – isn’t it a big deal? Then the answer would be absolutely yes, as this negotiation has a huge investment of approximately $600 million.
Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group is still working on this autonomous driving system. The news obtained from sources states that Uber will be bringing XC90 SUVs equipped with autonomous technology as part of a non-exclusive deal from 2019 to 2021. A new Volvo XC90 costs around $50,000.
Uber has been testing prototype Volvo cars for more than a year. This car will be equipped with an autonomous driving system with a safety driver in the front seat. The safety driver will be managing the control if the self-driving system fails due to unfortunate conditions.
Jeff Miller, Uber’s head of automotive alliances, said: “Our goal was from day one to make investments into a vehicle that could be manufactured at scale. It only becomes a commercial business when you can remove that vehicle operator from the equation.”
Uber has not yet come out with an official statement regarding the financial details of this giant deal. But Miller revealed in his statement that the company would purchase a small number of cars using equity, and others would be bought using debt financing.
Finally, it’s clear that it will be one of Uber’s biggest deals. It involves not only a huge investment but also involves plenty of risks at the same time. But if this deal goes well, then the company will surely be going to earn huge over this. Let’s wish the best of luck to this company and hope they live up to users’ expectations.
