Ford launches testing of new self-driving fleet in Detroit

[June 12, 2019]   (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's majority owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Argo AI, launched its new fleet of self-driving test vehicles - Ford Fusion Hybrid - in Detroit on Wednesday, expanding its presence to five U.S. cities.

The new cars are equipped with upgraded sensors, including radars and cameras with higher resolution and range, the company said.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker is in talks with German car maker Volkswagen AG to develop self-driving vehicles as its autonomous vehicles unit competes for investment and engineering talent with peers as well as technology companies.

General Motors' majority owned Cruise robotaxi business, Aurora, recently announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, while Alphabet and Uber are also investing in their self-driving projects.

Argo already operates vehicles in Pittsburgh, Palo Alto, Miami and Washington D.C.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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