Honda outlined its plans to develop autonomous cars with Level 4 capability which can drive on city streets by 2025, building on its strategy to take on rivals in the auto market of the future.
Unveiling its midterm vision strategy plan, Honda said it would boost coordination between research and development, procurement and manufacturing to tame development costs, as it acknowledged it must look beyond conventional vehicles to survive in an industry which is rapidly moving into electric and self-driving cars.
Honda has already spelled out plans to market a vehicle which can drive itself on highways by 2020, and the new target for city-capable self-driving cars puts its progress slightly behind rivals like BMW Group.
“We’re going to place utmost priority on electrification and advanced safety technologies going forward,” Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo said.
Developing new driving technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence-driven services, and new energy solutions also would be key priorities for Honda in the years ahead, the company said.
Honda established a division late last year to develop electric vehicles as part of its long-held goal for lower-emission gasoline hybrids, plug-in hybrids, EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to account for two-thirds of its lineup by 2030, from about 5 percent now.
By 2025, Honda plans to come up with cars with Level 4 standard automated driving functions, meaning they can drive themselves on highways and city roads under most situations.
Achieving such capabilities will require artificial intelligence to detect traffic movements, along with a battery of cameras and sensors to help avoid accidents.
BMW has said it would launch a fully autonomous car by 2021, while Ford has said it will introduce a vehicle with similar capabilities for ride-sharing purposes in the same year. Nissan is planning to launch a car which can automatically drive on city streets by 2020.
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