DETROIT _ Ride-hailing giant Uber will open a new research center in metropolitan Detroit by year's end to accommodate increased work with automotive industry suppliers and technology companies involved in autonomous vehicle development.
Sherif Marakby, Uber's vice president for global vehicle development, announced the investment Monday at a conference being hosted in suburban Detroit by professional engineering association SAE International.
Marakby, who joined Uber in April after 25 years at Ford, declined to say where the new center will be located or how many people it will employ but did say it would open in a few months.
"We see this as a collaboration that is absolutely necessary for success because Uber is not in the business of making cars, hardware or parts," he said.
Outside California, San Francisco-based Uber already has a large presence in Pittsburgh, where last week it began operating about 20 fully autonomous Ford Fusion hybrids on its most heavily traveled routes in that city. Uber has a partnership with the city's Carnegie Mellon University, which has a well-respected robotics program.
And on Monday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Uber has partnered with public transportation agencies in St. Petersburg, Fla., Philadelphia and the Research Triangle area of North Carolina that are interested in leveraging ride-sharing to boost use of public transit.
Asked whether Uber will roll out autonomous fleets to Detroit, Marakby said the company is "working with the state on that."
"We are very optimistic that we will launch in many areas that are open to us, including Michigan," he said.
About 15 million Americans are expected to use a ride-sharing or ride-hailing service this year, a figure projected to grow to more than 20 million by 2020, according to eMarketer.com, a research website that studies the sharing economy.
Marakby said Uber drivers, most of who own or lease their own vehicles, are logging 1.2 million miles per month.
In January, General Motors invested $500 million for a 9 percent stake in Uber's main U.S. competitor, Lyft.
