Volkswagen signs deal with Microsoft to develop self-driving vehicles
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Volkswagen, which owns premium car brands like Porsche and Audi, is developing both self-driving cars and driver-assistance features such as adaptive cruise control in current vehicles
German auto giant Volkswagen joined hands with top US tech organisation Microsoft on Thursday for developing self-driving vehicle systems.
Volkswagen, which owns premium car brands like Porsche and Audi, is developing both self-driving cars and driver-assistance features such as adaptive cruise control in current vehicles.
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The German auto giant said it aims to ramp up development of such systems, which are greatly becoming the norm in the vehicle industry, reports news agency AFP.
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It aims to invest some (about USD 32.7 billion) 27 billion euros in this field by 2025.
"This is the next step in our strategic partnership," Microsoft director Scott Guthrie said.
Both the companies have not shared details about the terms and financial aspects of the deal.
The deal with Microsoft will allow the software updates adding new features to cars, a practice electric-car maker Tesla started much earlier than its rivals.
In 2018, Volkswagen inked a deal with Microsoft to connect its cars with Azure cloud computing service.
This deal will enable software updates of the same cloud to reflect on Volkswagen's cars.
On similar fronts, General Motors has just inked a deal with Microsoft to push its introduction of autonomous vehicles, while France's Renault partnered with Google last year.