Google continues to progress with its Self-Driving Car Project, announcing Thursday that it will open a research and development center for the technology in Novi, Mich.
The tech giant plans to have its engineers work with local partners at the 53,000-square-foot facility, located right outside Detroit, in order to move development in autonomous technology forward.
"For the past few years, members of our team have been working from the Greater Detroit area," John Krafcik, CEO of the project, said in a Google+ post. "Now it's time to lay down roots: we're establishing a self-driving technology development center in Novi, MI."
Google has spent the past six years working on self-driving cars, and the latest move follows a month after the company announced that it will be working with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) to give 100 2017 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans autonomous capabilities. The new venture will see Google work with several Michigan-based partners in the auto industry in order to make the facility a reality.
Assistant City Manager Victor Cardenas noted that Google has been working with Novi for the past several months, adding that the facility's construction is the latest corporate development to take place in the city, following Harman International deciding to open a new North American headquarters in a 188,000-square-foot building earlier this year.
"Google coming to town will build on that momentum, and we are very excited about that," Cardenas said.
Krafcik added in his post that building the R&D center in Michigan will make it easier for Google to work with the state's best experts in engineering and vehicle development because most of the company's partners are based there. While Alphabet, Google's parent company, current has offices in Ann Arbor and Birmingham, the new facility will be the company's first office in Michigan designed for testing and developing self-driving cars.
Google and FCA both say that their partnership in Novi involving the Pacificas, which will begin later this year, is not an exclusive deal and that the search giant will continue to work with other car companies. However, the development center in the city is intended to be permanent and will continue to exist after Google's deal with FCA.
While Google did not reveal the exact location of the R&D center, Krafcik did say that the company will move into the Novi location throughout the year since "there's some work to do before it feels like home!"
