Volvo says deal will provide thousands of self-driving cars for Uber fleet

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Swedish automaker Volvo announced Monday it will sell thousands of driverless vehicles to ride-share giant Uber, for what will be the start of the company's autonomous fleet.

A Volvo statement said the framework for the deal calls for "tens of thousands" of XC90 coupes to be outfitted for autonomous driving in Sweden and sold to Uber.

Bloomberg reported the figure at 24,000 vehicles, to be delivered between 2019 and 2021.

Uber said it is testing self-driving XC90 models in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Arizona, and intends to purchase and use specially-modified Mercedes-Benz vehicles as well.

Volvo and Uber began a partnership last year, and the automaker has said it plans to introduce a fully self-driving car for the public in 2021.

"The automotive industry is being disrupted by technology and Volvo Cars chooses to be an active part of that disruption," said Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson. "Our aim is to be the supplier of choice for [autonomous driving] ride-sharing service providers globally."

The deal announced Monday is believed to be worth about $1.4 billion.

Competitor Waymo recently announced plans to begin its own autonomous ride-hailing service, which may be the reason for Uber accelerating its plans, Tech Crunch reported.