Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to buy 24,000 sport utility vehicles from Volvo Cars to form a fleet of driverless autos, a signal that the company remains committed to autonomous cars under newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi.
The cars are to be delivered over a 2 year period starting in 2019. That gives Uber a little under two years to really refine what, up until now, are absolutely woeful (and frankly terrifyingly poor) autonomous systems.
The deal also shows that Uber’s legal troubles haven’t deterred the company in pushing forward with autonomous vehicles.
It’s also further writing on the wall for drivers. While the tech may still need work before this deal ends – it very well may signal the beginning of the end for human drivers.
Source: Uber Expands Driverless-Car Push With Deal for 24,000 Volvos – Bloomberg