Google has hired auto industry veteran and former Hyundai U.S. CEO John Krafcik to run its self-driving car program.
Krafcik, 53, is credited with turning around Hyundai’s U.S. operations, leading the company to huge sales increases after the Great Recession. Early in his career as a mechanical engineer he worked at a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors where he became a proponent of lean manufacturing.
For Google, Krafcik’s hiring shows the tech giant is serious about turning autonomous cars into a sustainable business. Google has promised to have a self-driving car in the public’s hands by 2020. Krafcik takes over as the autonomous car CEO later this month.
Traditional automakers such as Mercedes, General Motors and Toyota are working to gradually automate functions in the car until vehicles become fully capable of driving themselves, possibly by 2025.
Google stunned the auto industry in 2010 by announcing that it was straying beyond its primary, Internet search and advertising business to develop self-driving vehicles. The company said in a statement Monday that it’s made more progress on its autonomous car technology than it ever thought was possible.