Nissan Lays Out Timeline for Self-Driving Technology

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said in the past that self-driving cars would be on the road by 2020, but in a new speech Ghosn rolled back those expectations.

“Self-driving cars,” he said in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, “remain a long way from commercial reality.”

But Nissan is still working hard to bring autonomous technology to the forefront, and Ghosn laid out the company’s timeline for its self-driving technology. “By the end of 2016, Nissan will make available the next two technologies under its autonomous drive strategy,” said Ghosn. “We are bringing to market a traffic-jam pilot, a technology enabling cars to drive autonomously – and safely – on congested highways. In the same timeframe, we will make fully-automated parking systems available across a wide range of vehicles.”

SEE ALSO: Nissan Promises Self-Driving Cars by 2020

These technologies are part of Nissan’s goal of relieving drivers of mundane tasks while increasing safety, reducing congestion and lowering emissions.

“This will be followed in 2018 by the introduction of multiple-lane controls, allowing cars to autonomously negotiate hazards and change lanes. And before the end of the decade, we will introduce intersection-autonomy, enabling vehicles to negotiate city cross-roads without driver intervention.”

So by 2020, many Nissan vehicles will be able to aid the driver in most situations, but a fully self-driving car is still far off.

Connected cars are also on the rise, and Nissan has plans have at least 1.5 million vehicles connected to enhanced communications, like wi-fi and cloud-based systems, by next year.

[Source: Automotive News]

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