In the push to develop driverless vehicles, tech companies have emerged as serious competition for traditional automakers — or so we thought.
Navigant Research published a study Monday that listed automakers and tech companies’ potentials to develop autonomous vehicles, USA TODAY reports. Despite claiming they are at the forefront of the self-driving revolution, Uber ranked 16th and Faraday Future was not listed in the results.
Although companies such as Faraday and Uber tout their experience in the tech industry as giving them an advantage over OEMs, that seemingly is no longer the case. Through various investments and partnerships, automakers have regained the lead in the race for autonomy, with Ford claiming the top spot in Navigant’s rankings.
While other Silicon Valley firms also finished below traditional manufacturers, they still were classified above Uber. Tesla and Waymo were ranked 12th and seventh, respectively.
Uber’s score reportedly was hurt by recent hiccups, including an intellectual property lawsuit it faces from Waymo regarding its autonomous driving system.
It’s unclear why Faraday wasn’t included at all in Navigant’s study, as it does have a permit to test driverless cars on California’s public roads. However, we suspect the fact that Faraday rarely releases details on its development projects played a role in the omission.
Thumbnail photo via Faraday Future
