Carsales Staff•19 Jul 2014
NEWS
Ghosn fast-tracks autonomous driving
But Nissan boss predicts completely autonomous cars of the future won't happen overnightNissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has expanded on his thoughts concerning autonomous driving, outlined earlier this month in his role as CEO of the Renault Nissan Alliance.
Speaking before the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan this week, Ghosn posited future Nissan models that would take over some of the driving chores without immediately putting the human driver out of work in doing so. Over the next four years or so, automated lane controls and traffic management systems will inevitably eliminate a lot of decision making and the constant need for focus on the road ahead. But the human driver would remain the final arbiter in the early days of autonomous driving, Ghosn said.
The Nissan boss anticipates that over the course of time, the autonomous systems will get smarter – reducing the workload for the driver – and motorists unconvinced by the new technology will come to see it in a different light. Nissan will begin introducing some components of the technology package before the end of 2016, but the company won't make autonomous driving technology commercially available in full before 2020.
"By the end of 2016, Nissan will make available the next two technologies under its autonomous drive strategy," Ghosn was quoted saying in a press release issued this week.
"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.
"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."
In the future according to Ghosn, autonomous driving will be imperative, driven by social and economic constraints, such as denser urban populations and three other factors, including an aging population for whom driving is a real bore.
"The first is the rise of global mega-cities, which is increasing the need for innovations to ease congestion, reducing emissions and improve traffic management," said Ghosn.
"Second, demand is growing for in-car communications that meet or exceed the high expectations of the digital generation. Our vehicles must be as connected as the smartphones and tablets that this generation depends upon day in and day out.
"Third, there is the need to bridge the generation gap by providing vehicles that appeal to the world's growing population of seniors. These consumers want technologies and automated systems that enable them to drive safely, for longer.
"Finally, the fourth mega-trend is the pressing need to embrace gender diversity. This means recognizing the vital role that women play as consumer-purchasers, decision-makers and managers throughout the car industry."
By his own estimation, Ghosn expects over 1.5 million Nissan-built vehicles to take to the roads with cloud-based communications systems before the end of this year. These systems will open up the world of social media, entertainment and voice-operated services for drivers and passengers.
"Nissan will be part of the transport solution in the growing number of megacities. We will continue to make our cars more connected. We plan to lead in delivering Autonomous Drive vehicles. And, in every part of the business, we are recognizing the unique needs of elderly drivers and the impact and influence of female customers."
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Written byCarsales Staff
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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