As part of the company's plan to further develop its self-driving technology, Google has opened a shop in what is considered the automotive hub of the United States, Detroit.

Google announced on Wednesday, May 25, that it will develop a 53,000-square-foot facility in Novi, a city which is just a short drive from Detroit. Google is planning to create a technology development center on the site. The center will focus mainly on self-driving technology and the tech giant is planning to open its doors before the end of the year.

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Google also revealed that some of the members of its self-driving team are already in the area working. The company feels that this seems to be the right time for it "to lay down roots."

In a statement posted on the company's official Google+ page, Google Self-Driving Car Project posted, "Many of our current partners are based here, so having local facility will help us collaborate more easily and access Michigan's top talent in vehicle development and engineering."

The post added that the main priority for the team based on the new facility is to work on the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans. Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobile recently agreed to collaborate in the development of self-driving cars. Google agreed to provide the self-driving technology while Chrysler agreed to provide 100 specially designed Pacifica minivans for the project.

According to Digital Trends, Google has already tested its self-driving technology on smaller cars like the Toyota Prius, the Lexus RX450h, and the Audi TT. However, the company is yet to test its technology on larger cars like the Chrysler Pacifica.

TagsGoogle, Google, google self-driving cars, Self-driving cars, autonomous car, Detroit, Google Facility, Google research