Is this Race a Real Battle?

The battle of man versus machine has loomed on for years with the cognitive thinking of a man being able to outperform a machine in many cases, but this new battle that’s taking place has little to do with man or machine. Rather, this battle has to do with the auto industry versus the technology industry, but what each one hasn’t quite learned yet is they really need each other in order to survive.

The ride sharing services of Lyft and Uber have taken hold of the world and give those living in large cities a great way to get around without having to rely on the bus or train. These services may in time replace taxis, even in the largest cities, but until recently the success was based upon the fact that both companies simply had developed apps that could allow you to hail one of their service providers. What these two haven’t ventured into yet, but are now working toward is the ownership of actual vehicles which will need to be maintained, fueled and even replaced at different times, much the same way rental car companies have to replace their vehicles on a regular basis.

Thankfully for both Lyft and Uber, some automakers are already investing in their technology and services with GM providing a fleet of vehicles and Toyota and Volvo adding revenue into Uber to use their vehicles. Volkswagen has even partnered with Gett, which and Israeli-based service, but not present in the US. These partnerships will be the cornerstone of what will make the technology and automotive industries work together like they should, rather than working at odds which could be more counterproductive than any other way of thinking. While these partnerships begin to offer new and advanced vehicles that don’t need drivers behind the wheel, we should look at what brought about such a discussion.

In large cities, many residents who live and work in the city use either public transportation or own their own vehicle. While it may seem like a waste of money for some of these folks to own vehicles, they certainly do, but they could lower their monthly expenses by using the services of Lyft and Uber. These services are easier to use than a taxi, a bus or a train and are more personal and direct to give an affordable and comfortable ride in a car that is owned by the driver and can reach the destination desired more easily.

With services from ride sharing companies as the way that many will use to replace the need of car ownership, auto manufacturers could lose a lot of sales over the next few years. This makes having a partner in the ride sharing business a must and as we move toward autonomous cars on the road from these ride sharing companies, the need for drivers will eventually disappear and the need for a maintenance and fleet rotation program will become a reality.

We see what GM, Volvo and Toyota are all doing with their own partnerships, but one big name that’s been left out of the conversation so far is Ford. Ford has already made some bold statements and has begun to act upon those statements. Recently the company purchased Chariot, which is a dynamic ride sharing service that could be the technology piece of the Ford equation, but Ford has chosen to do things on their own. This acquisition would give them that piece to be able to enjoy their own version of creating a ride sharing service that carries only the Ford name on it.

Who is going to win the race to autonomous ride sharing glory? Uber already has a small fleet in Pittsburgh and is preparing to expand to Detroit, although these cars are still manned by a driver in the seat in case the controls need to be taken over by the human operator. Right now these two cities are where Uber is gathering data to learn more and perfect their formula for autonomous ride sharing. Ford has made a bold statement to have their own autonomous vehicles without a steering wheel or pedals by 2021, but that still seems a long way off and we haven’t seen Lyft add their own autonomous cars to the mix just yet, so right now, Uber is in the lead with Toyota and Volvo models on the streets gathering the data needed.