The government of Japan and the European Commission have launched talks on linking Japan's QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) and Europe's Galileo GPS (Global Positioning System) systems as early as 2018 with the aim of facilitating the development of driverless cars, reported Nikkei on July 24. A discussion group, attended by Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi Zosen, and NTT Data of Japan as well as Thales of France, hopes to draft a plan by this year. QZSS, which mainly covers the Asia-Pacific area, and Galileo are complementary to each other in terms of coverage areas and accuracy. The connection of two systems is believed to help Japanese automakers expand into overseas autonomous car markets.