Google named John Krafcik, a former Hyundai Motors CEO, as the new chief executive for its self-driving car. Krafcik will serve the company later this month.
John Krafcik, a former CEO of Hyundai Motors will join Google as the chief executive to handle its self-driving car. Krafcik is currently the president of TrueCar, an eCommerce site for automobiles. He's also been a chief engineer of Ford.
Venture Beat published Krafcik's tweet on Sunday. "Yes, true: I'm joining the Google Self-Driving Car project in late September. This is a great opportunity to help Google develop the enormous potential of self-driving cars. I can't wait to get started."
According to him, our current frustrations in driving will be solved with the ease of Google's self-driving system. Most importantly, it will save people's lives.
Krafcik graduated at Stanford University with a degree in mechanical engineering. He's been a part of the MIT research team of Toyota's production system; The Machine That Changed the World.
But Courtney Hohne, a representative from Google told the Automotive News that Krafcik's background doesn't imply Google will manufacture its own cars. Instead, they will team up with the world's top manufacturing companies to bring the newest technology in the market safely.
Prior to that, Google released a statement indicating the self-driving car is still under the Google X Lab, though they see possibilities that it could be shifted in the future. "This is about getting ourselves ready for the future, so we can bring this technology to its full potential. The project is not becoming an Alphabet company at this stage though it's certainly a good candidate to become one at some point in the future."
Meanwhile, Chris Urmson, which is the head of the self-driving car team since 2009, will manage the technical aspect of the project, reported on Reuters.
Google targets to introduce the car by 2020. As of now, it is test driving in Mountain View, California and in Austin, Texas. It has logged 10,000 miles each week with skilled drivers in an autonomous mode.
Hiring Krafcik in the project, Google secures its access in product development and global connections. The man has a vast leadership experience in the auto industry. It would help them build relationships with future suppliers to convey this new technology.
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