Google does not intend to become a carmaker: executive

Up to five pieces will be selected by the company and the winning artists will also get the opportunity to enjoy a ride in one of the self-driving cars too. In-fact, the vehicles recently made it out in to the public for testing.

Hunter also noted that Google’s auto is still in the prototype phase, with components such as the powertrain still under discussion.

Though Google says its vehicle programme is not yet ready to become a standalone division under its new Alphabet rubric, it is now considering making private sales of its eventual auto as well as operating them as a fleet for the sharing economy, potentially an even more direct threat to the traditional makers than previously anticipated.

“Self-driving cars could save thousands of lives, give people greater mobility & free us from things we find frustrating about driving today”, he said in a follow-up tweet.

And it’s Apple and Google that are driving that conversation, even though neither one of them is doing (much) of the talking.

“We have enormous respect for the expertise of the automotive industry and how big and complex a job it is to manufacture a vehicle”, a Google Spokesperson told Mashable.

Google is not the only business that is looking towards the bright future of self-driving cars. Google said it worked with Roush, RCO, ZF Lenksysteme, Continental, Bosch, Frimo, LG Electronics, Prefix and others to build about 150 fully autonomous vehicle prototypes – with Roush assembling them in Livonia.

KitGuru Says: Google has been working on its own self-driving vehicle technology since 2009.

Whether Apple is able to develop cars or not is a different question. Until then, however, Google wants to have complete control so that it can properly test, tweak, and improve the hardware and software. The race is only heating up as automakers try to come up with codes for connecting cars to smartphones, the cloud as well as enhance self-driving capabilities. This may help to bring the enthusiast- dominated vehicle media around on a project that seeks to create a permanent alternative to driving. “He will supplement the current leadership team, which includes Chris Urmson, who has led the project since 2009”, wrote Cowen & Co. analyst John Blackledge in an industry note Monday.

The world of cars is still trying to introduce electric cars into the market, let alone autonomous ones.