Nissan Motor and Renault SA are open to partnerships with other companies to equip their vehicles with sophisticated technology as automakers race to develop the cars of the future, the pair's connected vehicles chief said.

Global automakers are competing with industry rivals and technology firms to develop self-driving cars and mobility services such as car sharing as the growing use of technology and artificial intelligence may eventually diminish the role of drivers, threatening the traditional model of car ownership.

As software used in cars becomes more sophisticated and costly, there will be benefits of partnerships - including with rivals - to develop standardized technology such as mapping services, said Ogi Redzic, who heads the Nissan-Renault alliances' Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services division.

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