Renault and Nissan going semi-autonomous for 2016
The Renault-Nissan alliance is pledging to launch not one, but 10 separate vehicles boasting autonomous driving technology before the end of the decade.
The conglomerate -- the world's fourth largest car company by volume -- is by no means the only automaker promising that its future models will be able to take the strain in traffic jams and at highway speeds. Everyone from Audi to Volvo are all powering towards the same goal.
But what makes the announcement so important is that it's from a company focused on the mass market.
"Renault-Nissan Alliance is deeply committed to the twin goals of ‘zero emissions and zero fatalities'," Renault-Nissan Alliance Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said at the Renault-Nissan Silicon Valley Research Center. "That's why we are developing autonomous driving and connectivity for mass-market, mainstream vehicles on three continents."
Those continents are Europe, America and Asia, regions where, with the exception of China, the market is mature in terms of size and average age. This could be a problem. Studies show that the younger the respondent, the more positive and excited they are about the prospect of one day being driven, rather than driving.
This is why the company is highlighting the technology's safety benefits. During its Silicon Valley address, Nissan pointed to the fact that 90% of road traffic accidents are due to driver error.
Roll-out through 2020
As for what Nissan and Renault customers can expect from their next new car, the first technology will be "Single-Lane Control" and it will be arriving this year. When activated, the car will be able to drive itself in heavy stop-start traffic conditions on the highway.
By 2018 this will be joined by the ability to autonomously change lanes during highway driving for overtaking and for autonomously avoiding potential hazards.
The final element will arrive in 2020 and will enable cars to negotiate busy junctions and intersections.
However, none of the new features will be on all of the time, it will be down to the driver to decide if or when any system should be activated. This is a point that the company has been going to great lengths to underline. At the Tokyo Motor Show in October for instance, Ghosn said: "Our objective for autonomous drive is not to take you out of the car. Our objective is to keep you in the car and empower you."
"If you want to drive, you drive, if you don't, you don't," he said.
