Geely's Volvo Cars has signed a framework agreement with Uber to sell "tens of thousands of autonomous driving compatible base vehicles between 2019 and 2021".
The base vehicles are on Volvo Cars' Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) which underpins its 90 series models and the redesigned XC60 midsize SUV.
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The non-exclusive agreement enhances the strategic partnership between Volvo Cars and Uber announced in August 2016 and also marks a new chapter in the convergence of car makers and Silicon Valley-based technology companies.
"The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption," said Hakan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. "Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for AD ride-sharing service providers globally. Today's agreement with Uber is a primary example of that strategic direction."
Volvo Cars' worked with Uber to develop the SUVs to be supplied to Uber. The base vehicles incorporate all necessary safety, redundancy and core autonomous driving technologies that are required for Uber to add its own self-driving technology.
"We're thrilled to expand our partnership with Volvo," said Jeff Miller, head of auto alliances, Uber. "This new agreement puts us on a path towards mass produced self driving vehicles at scale."
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By GlobalDataVolvo will use the same base vehicle in the development of its own independent autonomous car strategy, which is planned to culminate in the release of its first fully autonomous car in 2021.
Bloomberg said the deal involved 24,000 XC90s and that Uber's order boosts efforts to replace human drivers, the biggest cost in its on-demand taxi service.
The news service noted Uber had agreed to use 100 XC90s for self driving tests in Pittsburgh while also striking a deal to include autonomous vehicles from Mercedes-Benz in its network at some point.
