Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is reportedly close to signing a lucrative deal with Google’s owner, Alphabet, which could see the Italian-American giant win the lucrative contract to build the fully autonomous Google car.
Currently, the deal purports to merely be a ‘technical partnership’ that allows Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Jeep, Chrysler and Maserati to benefit from Google’s self-driving technology.
However, according to some analysts, in reality it could see FCA become the exclusive manufacturing partner in North America and Europe for mass-production of the world’s first fully autonomous vehicle.
Originally, both Ford and GM were in prime positions for a deal with Google, but negotiations reportedly stumbled over the legality of who owned the data gathered by Google’s autonomous software.
If the deal does go ahead, it could be a valuable coup for FCA as the car-making giant currently lacks semi-autonomous driving technology, which is slowly becoming the norm on premium and luxury vehicles.
If it secures the deal, it’s not known how long it will take for FCA to catch up with rivals like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Tesla, who already offer semi-autonomous tech on their vehicles.
Experts are split on whether it can be effectively retro-fitted to vehicles like the recently launched Maserati Levante and forthcoming Alfa Romeo Giulia, or if it could still be some years before FCA catches up in the market place.