We had been hearing rumors for some time now that Google was looking to team up with a conventional car manufacturer to push its self-driving car technology further. It was confirmed recently that Google and Fiat Chrysler are teaming up to put the former’s technology in the latter’s Pacifica minivans, details were slim in the official announcement and now there’s some clarity from the CEO of Fiat.
Once the partnership was confirmed many wanted to know more details but they weren’t immediately available. Many were also interested to find out what would happen once these Pacificas with Google’s self-driving technology rolled off the production line.
Even though Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sees a prosperous future ahead for his company’s partnership with Google, he says that initially it’s all very “focused,” and that in the first phase they’re going to work on baking Google’s technology in the minivan.
It’s very, very focused,” Marchionne said at a news conference, adding that it has a very clear objective and a defined timeline. So what’s clear now is that the two companies are going to work together to bake Google’s technology in Fiat’s minivans. What happens after has not really been clarified. “We need to get to a stage where the car is viable so we can discuss the spoils of that work,” Marchionne added, and that could take quite a bit of time.
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