Mclaren supplies backup safety system to Uber’s driverless cars in deal worth £35m

BRITISH supercar company Mclaren is supplying key safety technology to Uber’s troubled self-driving car business as part of a contract worth tens of millions of pounds.

Mclaren, best known for its British Formula 1 racing team and its sports car business, has been making parts for a backup system for Uber’s driverless car project in a deal worth up to £35m, The Daily Telegraph understands.

Uber’s efforts have been hit by delays. A fatal collision involving a selfdriving Uber car and a pedestrian in Arizona in March halted road tests and prompted a safety review. Its self-driving division has also burned through cash as Uber prepares for an anticipated $120bn (£94bn) listing.

Meanwhile, its main rival in developing a driverless taxi service in the US, Google-owned Waymo, began limited trials of a self-driving taxi operation on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona, in

December.

Woking-based Mclaren, which declined to comment, has emerged as a developer of self-driving technology in the UK through its Mclaren Applied Technologies arm. It will supply Uber with a “failover mission control” system, according to two sources.

Such a system could be used as a backup in case of an emergency or engine problems to safely make a driverless car pull over slow down.

In early 2018, Mclaren chief executive Mike Flewitt said it had been considering how to use “selective” autonomy in its supercars.