Uber has struck a deal to buy up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo.<\/p>\n
The agreement envisages that the pick-up service will purchase the vehicles over the course of three years beginning in 2019.<\/p>\n
Uber began testing prototypes made by the carmaker last year in the US.<\/p>\n
One expert said the announcement \u201cmakes a good headline\u201d but had doubts that fully autonomous, driverless Uber rides would be ready to begin until some years later.<\/p>\n
Uber and Volvo have not disclosed financial terms, but have confirmed that the deal is \u201cnon-exclusive\u201d \u2013 meaning both are free to form similar partnerships with others.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur aim is to be the supplier of choice for autonomous driving ride-sharing service providers globally,\u201d said Volvo in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s agreement with Uber is a primary example of that strategic direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chinese company Geely bought Volvo from Ford in 2010.<\/p>\n
Assuming Uber buys all 24,000 XC90 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) outlined in the agreement, the deal could be worth $1.4bn (\u00a31.1bn), according to an estimate by the Financial Times.<\/p>\n
Trade secrets<\/h2>\n
Under their pre-existing agreement, Uber already uses various customised Volvo vehicles \u2013 which include some of the carmaker\u2019s own self-drive hardware \u2013 and then adds on its own proprietary artificial intelligence technologies.<\/p>\n
At present, tests are limited to Tempe, Arizona and Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
But the new agreement seeks to radically expand the scale of the operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue is that we don\u2019t have any legislation in any city of the world that would remotely allow this sort of thing to happen at the moment,\u201d said Paul Newton, director at the consultancy IHS Automotive, about the idea of a totally driverless taxi service.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re expecting Japan to be one of the first to allow \u2018level four\u2019 automation \u2013 where you have the vehicle doing most of the work but still need a human with steering controls in the driving seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut \u2018level five\u2019 \u2013 where it\u2019s a completely autonomous vehicle in every sense of the word \u2013 is less likely to be around in this timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that even if the technology were ready in the next five years, new laws and infrastructure would probably take longer to put in place.<\/p>\n
Uber\u2019s self-drive ambitions may also be delayed by a legal dispute with Waymo \u2013 a self-drive business owned by Google-parent Alphabet.<\/p>\n
Waymo claims Uber benefited from the theft of some of its trade secrets and is seeking about $1.9bn (\u00a31.4bn) in damages.<\/p>\n
The case is due to go to court in San Francisco in early December.<\/p>\n
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Source: BBC<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Homepage](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Telesol-ad.jpg\")
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