Google Incorporated has appointed a veteran in the American auto industry John Krafcik as substantive chief executive officer for its self-driving car project.
The appointment of the former CEO of Hyundai America, which will take effect in late September, was confirmed to the media in a statement released on Monday.
Krafcik, who is currently president of automotive pricing terminal Truecar Incorporated, is expected to give the project direction just as the company begins to see it as a viable business venture in the near future.
According to the email statement made available to Reuters news agency, Chris Urmson, who has been head of the self-driving car program since 2009, will continue overseeing the project as its technical lead.
The Google self-driving car is a project by Google X established in 2009 that involves developing technology for autonomous cars, mainly electric cars.
Google has been testing the cars designed specifically for the project in selected American cities, the latest being Austin, Texas, in preparation for future commercial rollout.