Google hires Krafcik away from TrueCar

Google has tapped industry veteran John Krafcik to run its self-driving car project.

But don't let the move fool you, company reps insist the hiring does not signal intentions to enter the manufacturing space.

Krafcik, who is currently the president of TrueCar, was the former CEO of Hyundai Motors America and brings years of automotive experience to the search engine company.

Reuters says Chris Urmson, who has been head of the self-driving car program since 2009, will continue overseeing the project as its technical lead.

The driverless car program began in 2009. It is currently road-testing its quirky, two-seater in California and Texas. Google has said in the past it would like to introduce the vehicles by 2020.

He is expected to start sometime in September.