ROME - Italian-American carmaker Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) has joined
a project to develop self-driving cars led by Germany's BMW Group,
computer giant Intel and its Israeli subsidiary Mobileye.
"FCA will bring engineering and other technical resources and
expertise to the cooperation, as well as its significant sales
volumes, geographic reach and long-time experience in North America,"
a joint statement said Wednesday.
The group said it was on track to have 40 autonomous test vehicles on
the road by the end of 2017.
The project, which was launched in July last year, aims to make
self-driving vehicles a reality by 2021.
"With FCA as our new partner, we reinforce our path to successfully
create the most relevant state-of-the-art [autonomous driving
platform] solution on a global scale," said BMW chief executive
Harald Krueger.
Companies involved "invite and welcome additional automakers and
technology suppliers to join them in adopting this autonomous driving
platform in an effort to create an industry-wide solution," the
statement concluded.