Fiat Chrysler joins alliance on road to self-driving cars

A PARTNERSHIP between BMW, Intel and automotive technology groups Delphi and Continental to develop systems for self-driving cars has a new member with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) signing up to the group.

FCA had previously been working on autonomous cars on its own but joining the group will help the business reduce costs and hopefully accelerate their development.

“To advance autonomous driving technology, it is vital to form partnerships among automakers, technology providers and suppliers,” said Sergio Marchionne, FCA chief executive.

Announcing the addition, the coalition said FCA joining would help leverage each member’s strengths and technologies, with FCA adding sales volumes and experience in North America. The target of deploying 40 autonomous vehicles for real-world driving testing by the end of the year remains on track, the group said, and it aims to have fully automated systems in production by 2021, using a “scalable” design that can be used by different car manufacturers.