Uber plans self-driving vehicle lab near Detroit

Ride-hailing service Uber is opening a self-driving vehicle research center in the suburbs here by the end of March, the company’s head global vehicle development executive said.

“We will be focused on integrating our technology into automakers’ vehicles,” Sherif Marakby, Uber vice president of global vehicle development, said at the Automotive News World Congress.

The decision to open the facility in Wixom, Mich., shows how the Motor City is seeing some success in navigating its way from its traditional automaking industry to a new, high-tech future.

“There is a huge, critical mass of talent in the Detroit area,” Marakby said last year.

In September, Uber launched a fleet of about 20 autonomous Ford Fusions in Pittsburgh and later expanded it to about 100 vehicles, including some Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid SUVs. Uber and the Swedish automaker are investing $150 million each to develop the next stage of their autonomous car strategies.

About 15 million Americans will use a ride-hailing service this year, a figure projected to grow to more than 20 million by 2020, according to eMarketer.com, a research website that studies the sharing economy.

The company is still privately held and lost about $1.2 billion in the first half of 2016 and another $800 million between July and the end of September, according to Bloomberg News. Despite the losses, Uber’s growth rate has driven venture capital firms to estimate its value at $68 billion.

Much of the losses came from China, where Uber last year turned its business over to rival Didi Chuxing, which gave Uber a 17% stake in its own business and $1 billion.