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Google Hires Krafcik to Head Self-Driving Car Program
Google Inc. has hired John Krafcik to become CEO of its 16-year-old autonomous car program, effective later this month.
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Google Inc. has hired John Krafcik to become CEO of its 6-year-old autonomous car program, effective later this month. The company has indicated it wants to launch a fully self-driving car by 2020.
Krafcik will operate from Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Chris Urmson, who currently heads the project, will continue as head of technical development. Google currently is testing a fleet of more than 100 self-driving cars on public roads in California.
Krafcik has been president of the TrueCar Inc. online car-shopping service for the past 18 months. He previously was CEO of Hyundai Motor Co.'s American operations. Before that he was a senior product development engineer at Ford. Krafcik is a mechanical engineer and manufacturing expert with a zeal for disruptive technologies.
Google tells Automotive News it plans to partner with established experts to produce its car rather than become a manufacturer.
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