By 2021, Volkswagen and Hyundai will bring self driving car

Friday, January 5, 2018

The Volkswagen Group (VLKAY) and Hyundai (HYMTF) have officially announced the partnerships with Aurora Innovations, a manufacturer of self driving car technology.

The efforts buck the trend of automakers being cautious to work with Silicon Valley companies. Volkswagen and Hyundai have turned to Aurora Innovations to increase speed how fast the technology appears on roads.

Hyundai said it will use the Aurora technology in a fuel cell SUV, which it believes is best suited for independent driving, given the vehicle’s driving range.

Volkswagen plans to use Aurora’s self-driving technology in a variety of vehicles, such as shuttles, vans, pods and trucks. It also anticipates operating a ride-sharing service in cities. Both the companies expect their self-driving vehicles to launch in 2021.

Founded in late 2016, Aurora has attracted the attention of the auto industry by having the motive of self driving. It builds the complicated systems required to control self-driving cars, which must understand their surroundings and make smart decisions.

Its co-founders are some of the biggest names in the industry, having led self-driving efforts at Google (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA).

An Intel study released in 2017, which is predicted that automotive industry will be worth $7 trillion by 2050.

Each year, there are about 1.25 million people are killed in motor vehicle crashes globally. These deaths are overpoweringly caused by human error. Removing human drivers could bring huge safety benefits.

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