Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars will sell ‘tens of thousands’ of autonomous vehicles to ride-sharing company Uber. The framework agreement between Volvo and Uber is one of the largest, if not the largest assignments for such vehicles so far. Deliveries will take place between 2019 and 2021.
The cars ordered are based on Volvo’s modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). This is the architecture on which Volvo’s current flagship SUV XC90 as well as the midsize XC60 are based on. Modifications towards self-driving capabilities are developed in close cooperation with Uber, Volvo announced in a press release. The base vehicles already incorporate the core autonomous driving technologies required for Uber to add its own self-driving technology. At the same time, Volvo plans to continue developing its own autonomous car strategy which is planned for release of first fully autonomous cars in 2021.
Though the carmaker did not provide financial details of the contract, experts estimate the value to slightly above $ 1 billion, about 4.5 % of Volvo’s total annual sales.
