Google's self-driving vehicles are already appearing on local roads, but still have a long way to go before you can pick one up at your local car dealer.
To help move that process along, the Web giant has hired former Hyundai CEO John Krafcik to lead its autonomous car efforts.
Krafcik confirmed the reports in a Sunday tweet.
"This is a great opportunity to help Google develop the enormous potential of self-driving cars. I can't wait to get started," he wrote in a separate message. "Self-driving cars could save [thousands] of lives, give people greater mobility [and] free us from things we find frustrating about driving today."
Google also confirmed the hire.
Krafcik has served as president of TrueCar for the past 1.5 years, but he cut his teeth at Ford as a product developer for 14 years, before heading to Hyundai. There, he worked as vice president of product development and strategic planning for more than four years, before serving as CEO of Hyundai Motor America from November 2008 to December 2013.
A mechanical engineer with degrees from Stanford University and MIT, Krafcik is Google's link between futuristic technology and the commercial auto industry.
"We're feeling good about our progress, so now we're investing in building out a team that can help us bring this technology to its full potential," Google told The Wall Street Journal. "John's combination of technical expertise and auto-industry experience will be particularly valuable as we collaborate with many different partners to achieve our goal."
Google has been testing its self-driving car software for several years using Lexus SUV and Toyota Prius vehicles. But last year it unveiled its own vehicle, a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe-lookalike (above) without a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal. Google has been testing that prototype on the open road in Mountain View (with a steering wheel, per California rules) and recently expanded those tests to Austin, Texas.
Honda, meanwhile, is the latest car maker to bring its self-driving car to the California streets. The company recently received the state's approval to move its testing from the Concord Naval Weapons Station to public roads.
Other companies conducting autonomous vehicle trials in the state include Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, Tesla, Nissan, and BMW, among others.
Source: pcmag.com
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