In an effort to beat the strict competition in the tech industry and with automakers that are making efforts aimed at developing car sharing and ride-hailing services, Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and Renault SA (RENA.PA) have stated their interest in acquiring Sylpheo, a French software company that is into development.
They said that the move will enable them also have access to over 40 consultants and engineers of Sylpheo who will help them in boosting the development of their software and expertise in cloud engineering.
According to Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services, senior vice president of Renault-Nissan, Ogi Redzic, these people will help them form an alliance that will work on the next generation of technologies and cars to come. Their roles, he added, will be critical especially regarding the global industry.
Other automakers like General Motors (GM.N), Toyota Motor Corp have made huge investments in start-ups and software firms that will position them for the rise that is imminent in the ride sharing, autonomous driving, and other services that are connected that poses as a threat to traditional ownership of vehicles model that has been the case in years past.
According to a spokeswoman of Renault, the applications required for car service platform under the alliance will be provided for by Sylpheo. The move, the spokeswoman noted will afford the alliance to recruit technology experts numbering 300 to be able to step up to the competition that is witnessed in the sector of mobility services which is on the rise.
All these services will be merged with technologies that are found in autonomous driving. Nissan in July released some semi-autonomous driving suite installed on one of its minivan Japanese models that allow it navigate congestion while driving on motorways single lane.
By 2024, the two companies say they will launch over 10 vehicles in the technology of autonomous drive. The aim of Nissan is to create multiple-lane autonomous driving functions that will allow full urban driving that will allow intersection turns by the year 2024.
