MAJOR automakers like General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Volvo Cars deepened ties with key technology partners to gird for the fight against electric car challenger Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. as it revs up to enter the market. Three chip firms — Intel Corp.’s Mobileye, Qualcomm Inc. and Nvidia Corp. — have emerged from a raft of announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas as the leaders in locking down the brains of self-driving cars for the next decade. The deals involve consolidating scores of older, slower chips into more powerful centralized computers. But to win them, the chip firms have had to consent to letting automakers control key parts of the technology. Previous news reports said that Apple plans an electric car. Bloomberg reported last year that the iPhone maker is aiming for full self-driving capabilities as early as 2025. For automakers facing Apple and Tesla, the stakes are high. In addition to electrifying their models, automakers are essentially designing computers with increasing self-driving features. That means a big opportunity for automakers to make money off software and services in cars long after vehicles roll off a dealer’s lot, but only if they can keep the customer relationships and data for themselves, the way that Tesla and Apple do. Automakers “that haven’t been the pioneers are finally realizing they’re going to be left in the dust if they don’t change their approach,” said Danny Shapiro, vice president, automotive for Nvidia, a maker of high-powered chips. Nvidia last week announced deals to supply the electronic brains for future models from several Chinese electric vehicle startups, and is working with other automakers including Mercedes, Hyundai Motor Co., Volvo and Audi.(SD-Agencies) | 