Uber buying 24,000 Volvos, delivery 2019-2021

[watty]

Uber is buying 24,000 Volvo XC90 SUVs to form a fleet of driverless cars (TheVerge, 20 Nov 2017)

Uber will buy 24,000 XC90 SVUs from Volvo to form a fleet of driverless vehicles, reports Bloomberg. The XC90s, which start at $45,750, will be delivered between 2019 and 2021. The base vehicles feature core autonomous driving technologies that will enable Uber to add its own automation features as well, Volvo says. “This new agreement puts us on a path towards mass produced self-driving vehicles at scale,” Jeff Miller, head of auto alliances at Uber said in a statement.

Volvo said engineers from both companies developed the XC90 premium SUVs supplied to Uber. Uber has been spotted testing its self-driving Volvo XC90 SUVs before in Pittsburgh, and the company has had a strategic partnership with Volvo since August 2016. Uber also has a small fleet of self-driving Ford Fusions.

Volvo is also planning to release it own first fully autonomous car in 2021, and will also use the same base model vehicle in development. “The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo in a statement. “Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for AD ride-sharing service providers globally.”

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[watty]

Co-incidentally, that's just over $1billion, the same amount of cash that Softbank are about to invest in Uber...

Still, interesting to see Uber actually spending money on something other than discounted taxi fares!

[TheDevilHimself]

seems like bullshit P.R. and/or some sort of financial trickeration.

[U Wha]

Co-incidentally, that's just over $1billion, the same amount of cash that Softbank are about to invest in Uber...

Still, interesting to see Uber actually spending money on something other than discounted taxi fares!

Interesting all right! these cars will place human drivers.

An analogy that you can relate to watty is back in the 90's the mobile networks were busy developing the market, network and products, so they used self employed or companies to sell the phones with generous commissions.

Once they were established they didn't need agents anymore and they took over the retail. hardly any independent phone retailers now.

Same thing happening in the taxi industry. once the automated vehicles are proven and accepted by governments, the apps will introduce automated taxis, replace drivers and control all of the revenue not just 12%.

All the more reason for a driver owned app that can compete and lead the taxi app market. if the tech is inevitable then the driver app can create partnerships with the automakers and secure their futures that way.

[The Liffey Lip]

Best to retire and buy a sex doll. Anne Summers is getting the male version in next yr for its demanding female clientele.

[Rat Catcher]

I can't see motor manufacturers wanting to partner with firms that are seeking to curtail their objectives, they'd just buy them or, if the owners are too pig headed to sell, put them out of business. mytaxi, for it's part, does seem interested in working with drivers, at least in the short/medium term.

[markmiwurdz]

Driverless cars are hard wired to not run over pedestrians,take the pedestrian crossing at the rank in College Green during the day time (or anywhere like Harcourt St),people will continue to cross on red knowing the car won't run over them....you'd be there all frikkin day..

[Rat Catcher]

A bit of fine tuning will be required. Cork might be the best place to trial them, Bobby Lynch reckons there'll be no taxis there within 5 years.

[The Liffey Lip]

A bit of fine tuning will be required. Cork might be the best place to trial them, Bobby Lynch reckons there'll be no taxis there within 5 years.

In fairness, there's reasoning there. It's Govt policy to kettle as many people as possible into urban environments thus leaving the plebs to make their own way home after a session (Uber Exec will cater for those living in Sutton and Dalkey)....just the way it used to be not so very long ago. Walking from town to Coolock or Terenure was not such a huge issue 20 plus yrs ago. I walked to Bray twice in a week in 1998 with a skinful of Carlsberg and 12 packets of Monster Munch for sustenance. He has a point in relation to insurance being a cross many cannot bear.

[john m]

Class action being filed in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA YEEHAA  for 7 billion against UBER for breach of privacy as they covered up the hack .That might delay their purchase as Zimmerman Zimmerman ,Zimmerman and Bernstein   Practitioners at Law Defend the case taken on behalf of the digitally asaulted by Bernstein Bernstein ,Bernstein and Zimmerman Practitioners at Law in the First Circuit Court of Idaho .The Jews in London always liked the Volvo they liked the extra roof height as it allowed them to keep their hats on when they drove ...true story !

[The Liffey Lip]