Google reportedly veering away from self-driving car project

Alphabet, the parent company of tech giant Google, is scaling back on its autonomous driving project, according to reports from technology news site The Information.

The website said that the team currently in charge of "Chauffeur" will be moved out of Google's "moonshot" division, and instead centre its focus on placing sensors in traditional vehicles.

The company had recently announced a partnership with one of the "Big Three" car-makers in the US - Fiat Chrysler - to develop the technology for its cars.

Google is not expected to completely abandon the race to develop the world's first wholly autonomous vehicle however, with its fleet having clocked more than two million miles of road time since their first testing in 2009.

Google initially began to do away with the steering wheel and pedals approach, but the latest setback comes from Alphabet CEO Larry Page and CFO Ruth Porat, who the report says found their approach to the idea "impractical".

Various other technology and car companies are keen to develop the tools that will lead to fully self-driving cars, including the likes of Apple, Uber and Tesla.

Uber in particular have driven hard to get ahead of the crowd in recent years, hiring dozens of robotic experts and setting up its own research lab in Pittsburgh, US.