Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is making significant strides in the autonomous driving space through its division Waymo but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is also hot in pursuit.
One of the reasons why Alphabet is winning the race is the fact that it recently announced that it was bringing Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) on board as a partner for Waymo. This deal outlined Google’s strategy with its self-driving technology since it does not have its own cars. Instead, the technology will be fitted into Avis vehicles. This will allow Alphabet to access a fleet of vehicles that belong to Avis and in turn have access to customers. Analysts are impressed by the fact that autonomous technology seems to be picking up pace.
“Out of the past three years that I’ve been researching [autonomous vehicle] policy, this is by far the most important month of Congressional action and partnerships I’ve seen yet,” stated Greg Rogers, a policy analyst at the Eno Center for Transportation.
Apple is also making significant progress with its self-driving technology and it also recently signed a deal similar to that of Waymo and Avis. The iPhone maker announced that it teamed up with Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HRI) to test out its technology.
More companies jumping on board
Many automotive manufacturers seem to be impressed with the idea of self-driving cars and as such, most of them are venturing into the technology. This year has been characterized by heavy focus on autonomous technology, thus suggesting that it will be an integral part of cars in the future. Apple and Alphabet will probably offer their solutions to vehicle manufacturers who do not have the technology. However, some manufacturers have already made significant progress.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) used autonomous driving as a selling point for its vehicles since the very beginning. Other companies such as Daimler AG (OTCMKTS:DDAIF) have also shown a lot of promise from their growing focus on autonomous vehicle technology.
Alphabet stock closed the latest trading session on Monday at $919.46 after tanking by 1.10% from the previous close.
