Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is adding more muscle to its self-driving vehicle testing efforts.
The company will spend more than $30 million at a new testing and development facility at its Chelsea Proving Grounds west of Detroit. Testing begins this month at the facility, which will include a "dedicated autonomous highway-speed track, 35-acre safety-feature evaluation area and a high-tech command center," according to a company news release.
It's the second self-driving vehicle-related announcement the company has made in recent weeks. Last month, FCA said its Magneti Marelli components business would acquire a French startup -- StartMeUp -- focused on self-driving car software, for an undisclosed price.
The twin announcements follow the release in June of the company's five-year plan, where it dedicated a presentation to the company's self-driving and connected vehicle efforts. That presentation highlighted the company's focus in developing the technology through partnerships, such as by supplying up to 62,000 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids to Waymo's self-driving project by 2021.
Former Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, who died in July, had pushed back against critics for suggesting that the company was a laggard in the development of self-driving technology, saying last year that FCA's approach gives the company a chance to get a "technically correct solution at a commercially defensible price."
New CEO Mike Manley said in the news release that the Chelsea facility would "help support and enable" the rollout of the five-year plan.
The test track will provide a range of environments, including obstacles, tunnels, varying road lighting conditions and interstate-style exit and entrance ramps, the release said.
SundayMonday Business on 09/09/2018