Auto parts leaders Delphi Automotive and Mobileye are partnering to develop a fully autonomous driving system that manufacturers can adopt by 2019.
The goal of the partnership, according to a report, is to produce off the shelf systems for the whole gamut of vehicles ranging from small cars to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to pickup trucks to stay relevant in the next wave of auto technology.
This partnership comes as car makers themselves are piecing together systems and processes that will enable them to develop their own autonomous driving technology.
As a strategy, the two firms aim to imbue its products with “a new level of driving intelligence” that mimics a driver’s decision making in complex situations, Mobileye chairman and chief technology officer Amnon Shashua said. “If we don’t want to clog a city with robotic systems that get stuck in busy traffic, you must endow these systems with intelligence,” he further stated.
Further, the move is seen to boost the competitiveness of Delphi and Mobileye as both have struggled to cope with flat demand for their systems.
Merging their balance sheets is also expected to help the companies take advantage of the current outsourcing trend without overextending themselves. Industry observers have noted that car makers are becoming more comfortable about sourcing out their technology development needs to third party providers.
“We’re able to pool the investment as well as the technology and execution risk in one place so it doesn’t have to be duplicated by multiple [auto makers] over and over again,” Delphi chief executive Kevin Clark stressed.
