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Google Prepares to Spin Off Autonomous Car Unit

Google Inc.’s parent, Alphabet Inc., will soon spin off its “X” autonomous vehicle group as an independent subsidiary, according to John Krafcik, CEO of the unit.

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Google Inc.’s parent, Alphabet Inc., will soon spin off its “X” autonomous vehicle group as an independent subsidiary, according to John Krafcik, CEO of the unit.

Krafcik tells a conference sponsored by The Nikkei the group will spin off “soon,” without elaborating on the timing or name of the new company.

Google’s X lab was set up in 2009 to develop driverless vehicles. Krafcik, a veteran auto industry executive, joined as head the project last autumn. He is a quality and manufacturing engineer who spent time in product development at Ford Motor Co., became CEO of Hyundai Motor America and is a past president of TrueCar Inc.

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