(Bloomberg) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Alphabet Inc.'s Google plan to develop about 100 self-driving prototypes based on the carmaker's Pacifica minivan, the companies said today.
The collaboration is the first phase of a joint project to create autonomous vehicles, people familiar with the matter said. The vehicles will be used by Google to test its self-driving technology. The companies would remain free to cooperate in driverless technology with other partners, said people familiar with the matter.
Fiat won't license any of Google's self-driving technology, spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez said. The minivans will be part of Google's test fleet, she said in an e-mail.
|Google's first accord with major automaker
The accord is Google's first with a major automaker since the technology giant began developing self-driving cars on its own in 2014. Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann said last month that the Italian-American carmaker should work with "new industry participants" like Google and Apple Inc. rather than compete with them.
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