Renault-Nissan’s Self-driving Car Fleet Is Rolling 10-Deep
Astounding numbers coming from the Franco-Japanese conglomerate.
Though Nissan didn’t bring a concept car to show at CES 2016, the Japanese automaker is not exactly going quiet on the crazy-technology front. In fact, a joint statement released on Jan. 7 notes that Renault-Nissan will offer more than 10 self-driving cars by 2020.
“Renault-Nissan Alliance is deeply committed to the twin goals of zero emissions and zero fatalities," said alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn during a presentation at the Silicon Valley Nissan Research Center in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Jan. 7. "That’s why we are developing autonomous driving and connectivity for mass-market, mainstream vehicles on three continents.”
The new autonomous models are anticipated to go on sale in the United States, Japan, China and Europe over the next five years. So far, the progress is gradual but apparent as Nissan and Renault plan to debut its "single-lane control" system in select models this year, which will allow vehicles so equipped to autonomously navigate a single-lane highway.
By 2018, Renault-Nissan is expected to introduce "multi-lane control," which enables the vehicles to autonomously make lane change decisions to avoid hazards, road blocks or traffic. Finally, the alliance hopes to have "intersection autonomy" ready by 2020, which represents the last piece of the puzzle that would enable an autonomous car to safely navigate city streets.
Renault-Nissan also stated during the Thursday presentation that the self-driving technology will be “installed on mainstream, mass-market cars at affordable prices.”
Although Ghosn has not divulged which models will receive the new technology, the Nissan IDS Concept previewed at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, pictured above, packed tech that was tipped to make it to the next-generation Nissan Leaf.
The IDS EV Concept also introduced an autonomous driving system dubbed "Piloted Driving," which is said to feature a unique A.I. communication system that can learn and imitate the owner's style of driving.
