2022 timeline for full autonomy

Nissan will be selling level-four autonomous cars by 2022. It’s not clear in which markets the self-driving cars will hit the road first, but you’ll be safe to assume it will not be Australia.

The Renault Nissan Alliance’s road to autonomy was restated in technical briefings at the company’s Atsuga Advance Technical Centre near Yokohama this week.

During the briefings, Nissan engineers and senior managers outlined the company’s plans for autonomous cars at a coarse level, confirming that the 2020-22 period would be transitional in terms of self-driving tech.

Not only is Nissan not stating which market will first see Level-four cars go on sale, it's not telling which vehicles will debut the technology first. However, it’s a safe guess that the self-driving smarts will be built into the circa-2022 production version of the 320kW, 600km per charge IMx concept crossover unveiled at Tokyo Motor Show earlier this week.

Currently Nissan offers “highway single lane” autonomous functionality in four models including the Japanese-market X-TRAIL and new LEAF.

Level four is defined as fully autonomous operation – albeit with a driver in the car. Nissan says it will offer level two autonomy in some cars and markets from 2020 production. Level two allows hands-off driving even in urban environments.

Says Autonomous Drive Deputy General Manager, Takahashi Sunda, when level-four vehicles arrive, Nissan will assume all liability for its vehicles operating in autonomous mode. This is in line with the statements made by Volvo in 2016 when the Swedish brand announced its own autonomous plans.

In prototype form the Renault Nissan Alliance autonomous hardware comprises nine radar sensors, six laser scanners, 12 cameras and 12 sonar sensors. The system is currently being used in trials in the USA, UK and Japan.

Pivotal to implementation, however, is complex, highly detailed mapping. It’s this requirement as much as poor road infrastructure generally that will delay the rollout of autonomous cars in markets like Australia, the Nissan experts say.