Ford and Google are still interested in making self-driving cars together, according to a new report.
Late last year, a Yahoo Autos report claimed that auto-maker Ford and internet giant Google – which is also a leader in autonomous car research – were looking to join forces on a future venture.
That report claimed that we would receive an announcement on this partnership at CES 2016. Well, CES has come and gone, and there was no such joint Ford and Google announcement.
However, The Wall Street Journal has just published a piece supporting claims that Ford and Google are looking to work together.
It claims that Ford is considering creating a separate company to develop autonomous car features. While Ford will develop the software for driving mechanical components such as steering and braking, Google would supply the autonomous driving software.
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The piece highlights how Ford is looking to experiment with new forms of car ownership, and to embrace the approach and technical know-how of Silicon Valley. Whilst traditional car sales in Ford’s native US are at an all-time high, co-chairman Bill Ford Jr. (yep, he’s in the family) can see that attitudes to car ownership are changing as our cities grow critically congested.
Perhaps key to Ford’s will to experiment is the fact that shares in upstart companies like Tesla are climbing whilst those of traditional auto makers like Ford and GM have stalled.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.