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Ford picks Austin as third city for 2021 commercial self-driving car launch

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Ford picks Austin as third city for 2021 commercial self-driving car launch

Ford Motor Co. selected Austin, Texas, as the third city where it plans to launch autonomous commercial vehicles in 2021.

The carmaker in collaboration with Argo AI LLC has already announced plans to commercially launch the vehicles in Miami-Dade County, Fla., and Washington, D.C.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based carmaker said it is expanding its self-driving testing to Austin to be able to launch there in two years.

"As we start mapping roads and testing our self-driving system in Austin, we will also conduct business pilots to see how we can best deploy our vehicles. With a large university campus at its core and a vibrant, growing downtown — not to mention a dense population that's open to ride-hailing — there is an opportunity for self-driving vehicles to perform a wide number of services," Sherif Marakby, CEO, Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, said in a blog post.

Texas recently passed a bill governing autonomous technology in the state and created a Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Task Force to further study self-driving vehicles.

"The future entry of automated vehicles services into Austin marks a very meaningful opportunity to address issues like safety, equity and accessibility for all. We're looking forward to seeing how test vehicles can be put to use — and to build out public services based on the foundation that Ford is building in Austin," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said.

In January, Ford-backed autonomous car startup Argo AI was granted permission by California authorities to begin self-driving vehicle tests in the state.