The five programs that will be operated by BMV and Daimler AG include Reach Now, Charge Now, Free Now, Park Now and Share now. Reach Now is a service that shows users different ways to get to their destination when traveling, including public transportation, car sharing, and bike rentals. Charge Now will create a massive network of charging stations designed to improve access for electric vehicles. A competitor to Uber and Lyft, Free Now is a ride-hailing app that is already offering services in 17 countries in Europe and Latin America. Park Now lets people plan and pay for parking spots in advance to cut down on time spent driving around looking for open spaces. Finally, Share Now offers shared electric vehicles that serve as an alternative to owning a car.

Most of the ventures under the umbrella of BMV and Daimler are already up and running in some capacity, and the companies claim they already serve more than 60 million customers. Last year, BMV and Daimler decided to operate their mobility services as a 50/50 joint venture to expand their reach and help to future-proof their business models. The automakers won approval from regulators for their plan in December. The initiatives should expand considerably with the new influx of cash as the automakers focus on what the future of transportation might look like.

The XC90s Uber riders will encounter will be outfitted with an early version of a self-driving system developed by the company’s Advanced Technologies Center. At this stage of the game, riders won’t be getting into these autonomous cars alone, so there isn’t much to worry about in that regard. The cars will still have a driver behind the wheel, ready to take over if need be, while another person will be taking notes about the ride from the passenger seat.

Beyond getting to take a ride in a self-driving car, having one of these vehicles arrive to pick you up comes with another perk, as these rides will be offered for at no cost to the rider for the time being. It obviously won’t be that way forever, but it seems Uber doesn’t want its users to have to pay for something that still needs to go through significant testing.

Uber has arrived on the self-driving scene rather quickly, and it would appear that the company doesn’t want to rely on other companies to provide these autonomous systems. Uber envisions a future where its drivers will be replaced by self-driving cars, but when you consider the service’s more than one million drivers and the fact that its self-driving technology is still in its rudimentary stages, it becomes clear that future is still a long way off.

Unlike Ford’s current autonomous research fleet, which bolts extra sensors onto existing production models like the Fusion, the fully autonomous car it plans for 2021 will be specially designed for the purpose. It’ll meet Level 4 on the Society of Automotive Engineers’ scale, which basically means that it can handle most everyday driving without the occupants getting involved. However, that’s still short of Level 5, at which point the car is able to handle every situation without the “driver” weighing in. 

Ford hasn’t said exactly what the limits of its vehicle’s technology will be, but has previously demonstrated autonomous cars handling inclement conditions like snow, as well as in complete darkness.

Still, it’s a big step for a company which had previously been considered one of the more conservative among automakers on self-driving technology.