If there’s one auto exec we’re not shocked found their way to Silicon Valley, it’s former Hyundai Motor America chief John Krafcik. The Stanford grad started his career working for GM at NUMMI, the Bay Area plant known these days as the Tesla factory. And now, after a stint at car-shopping site TrueCar, Krafcik has been appointed the CEO of Google’s self-driving car program.
The tech giant, recently restructured under new parent company Alphabet, with Google and it products living as brands under that umbrella, clearly is getting serious about this whole self-driving car business. While the self-driving car project may get its own letter of the alphabet one day, according to Google’s Courtney Hohne, speaking to Automotive News, that day hasn’t yet arrived. She says, “This is about getting ourselves ready for the future.” Given that Krafcik’s been given a CEO title, however, it suggests that day will come sooner than later.
That future, however, will not include building self-driving vehicles itself. Its Roush-assembled, koala-like autono-pods are purely for developmental purposes. While rumors swirl about Apple building its own automobile from the ground up, Google seems to be setting itself up in a supplier role, leaving the heavy lifting of manufacturing and marketing vehicles to the automakers themselves. Krafcik’s knowledge of the industry and contacts within it should further facilitate that. And we’re sure that’s exactly what Google’s banking on.
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