Volvo and Uber unveil first self-driving production vehicle

Thursday, 13 June 2019

Volvo and Uber have developed an autonomous car, with Volvo providing the base vehicle and Uber the advanced autonomous tech.

Volvo and ride-hailing firm Uber have unveiled a jointly developed production car that the companies say is capable of driving by itself and is the next step in the 'strategic collaboration' between both companies.

Uber and Volvo entered a joint engineering agreement in 2016 and have developed several prototypes, but say that the Volvo XC90 SUV presented is the first production car that - in combination with Uber's self-driving system - is capable of fully driving itself.

Volvo has been responsible for the 'base vehicle' XC90, which is equipped with key safety features that the company says will allow Uber to easily install its own self-driving system.

The XC90 provides the base tech and back up systems for Uber's self driving systems.

'We believe autonomous drive technology will allow us to further improve safety, the foundation of our company,' said Hakan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.

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Volvo Cars president and CEO Hakan Samuelsson.

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Volvo says it will be using the base XC90 in the development of its own autonomous cars.

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'By the middle of the next decade we expect one-third of all cars we sell to be fully autonomous. Our agreement with Uber underlines our ambition to be the supplier of choice to the world's leading ride-hailing companies.'

Volvo says the most important features of the base XC90 include several back-up systems for both steering and braking functions as well as battery back-up power. If any of the primary systems should fail for some reason, the back-up systems are designed to immediately act to bring the car to a stop.

In addition to Volvo's built-in back-up systems, an array of sensors on top of and built into the vehicle are designed for Uber's self-driving system that the company says may one day allow for safe, reliable autonomous ridesharing without the need for an Uber employee operating and overseeing the car.

'Working in close cooperation with companies like Volvo is a key ingredient to effectively building a safe, scalable, self-driving fleet,' said Eric Meyhofer, CEO of Uber Advanced Technologies Group.

'Volvo has long been known for their commitment to safety, which is the cornerstone of their newest production-ready self-driving base vehicle. When paired with our self-driving technology, this vehicle will be a key ingredient in Uber's autonomous product suite.'

Volvo plans to use the autonomous base vehicle concept for the introduction of its future autonomous cars in the early 2020s.