Google rumoured to scrap production of its OWN self-driving car in favour of helping automakers

Google, perhaps more than any other technology company, has pioneered the self-driving car phenomenon .
Over the last two years, the company has tested autonomous cars over two million miles and has even built its own prototype . But the technology press is tentatively reporting that Google will shelve production and start helping other carmakers.

A report from The Information says that the search giant will "partner with automakers to make a vehicle that drives itself but has traditional features for human drivers." 

Traditional carmakers like Ford, Lexus and Volvo have made no secret of their drive to create autonomous vehicles. The Information goes on to say that there could be a Google autonomous ride-sharing service (similar to Uber) in the pipeline instead.
Larry Page, the CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, and CFO Ruth Poret have been pegged as being behind the decision to move into a partnership with carmakers. The Information says that the pair found the idea of developing an end-to-end Google car "impractical".
Back in the summer, Google announced it was launching a car-sharing service through Waze , but it was invite-only and limited to the San Francisco area.

"Waze Carpool connects riders and drivers with nearly identical commutes based on their home and work addresses," Google said at the time.
"Thanks to Waze advanced mapping capabilities, the platform connects carpool partners from the same local community, making it easy to carpool with neighbors and colleagues you know or haven’t met yet."
Since then, Google has been quiet on the progress of its carpool service, but its autonomous cars have had a couple of crashes .
Google is believed to be making an announcement soon on the status of its driverless division so there's likely to be more information on this story soon.