Rumor: Google pairing with Ford to build driverless cars

Google is expected to make its self-driving cars unit, which will offer rides for hire, a stand-alone business under its parent company, Alphabet Inc, next year, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Ford’s cars are much less expensive than Tesla’s, and so the new venture might lead to more reasonably priced self-driving vehicles in the near future. According to Yahoo, the deal would be non-exclusive, meaning Google could provide its self-driving auto technology to other automakers.

The company is testing the self-driving cars mainly in California, where accidents involving these cars must be reported.

It’s worth noting that the former Ford CEO Alan Mulally has been a member of Google’s board since 2014.

An official announcement on the deal could come as early as January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Is it safe getting in a driverless auto with Google technology? Instead of building cars itself, Google may just create the software that makes the autonomous vehicle possible, and leave it to manufacturers to churn out actual cars.

Sources say that venture will be part of a new company that is legally separate from Ford Motor Company, no doubt to insulate the company from any potential liability. Ford’s been doing all that for a century, so it knows a lot that Google doesn’t. Google will get to work with one of the biggest auto manufacturer in the world and use their expertise to produce self-driving cars.

It has also been rumored that Apple is working on a self driving vehicle of their own. Mcity may be the best spot for automakers to test self-driving cars in different conditions in a controlled setting. The developers of self-driving technology including Google, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz have all stated that in case of failure arising out of the technology that powers the self-driving cars, they are ready to take the responsibility. Ford announced last week that it plans to begin testing its autonomous Fusion Hybrid on public roads next year, while Google’s autonomous vehicles have already driven more than 1.3 million miles.

“Some Silicon Valley companies would like to do everything themselves, but it’s really the vehicle companies that understand the automobile”. Krafcik’s experience will be very helpful for the plan, as he was once a chief engineer during the development of Ford’s most famous SUV – the Expedition.