When Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) launches its all-battery Lexus next year, the luxury model will be able to drive autonomously on highways, a big step for the Japanese automaker, which has so far trailed rivals in bringing self-driving cars to market, reports Trend referring to Reuters.
Announced at the Tokyo Motor Show this week, the new Lexus shows how Toyota is putting its research on self-driving technology to work in cars that have limited automation.
That strategy comes as more automakers - and even governments - are taking a longer view toward artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving cars, paring back development targets after fatal accidents in Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) cars have shown the complexity of the technology.
Right now, component manufacturers and venture companies working on the technology “are revising their timeline for AI deployment significantly,” Executive Vice President Shigeki Tomoyama told a small group of reporters this week.
While Toyota is using the motor show to tout its push to become a “future mobility company” showcasing futuristic, AI-based driving companions and miniature delivery robots, on the sidelines, Tomoyama injected a dose of reality about the pace of developing future cars.
“Right from the get-go, we figured it’s going to be a time-consuming endeavor,” he said. “There’s no particular need to rethink the time frame for our AI self-drive technology investment and development.”
Toyota next year will release its first so-called “Level 2” autonomous car, capable of driving itself on the highway, “from entrance to exit, with traffic merging capability,” Tomoyama said.
Other automakers already market “Level 2” cars, but a growing number are pushing out their schedules to develop future autonomous technologies, citing the high hurdle to clear before enabling cars to perform more driving tasks.
Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) also has abandoned an earlier in-house target to develop cars which can drive themselves on city streets by 2020. At the moment, its cars are able to drive on highways and park autonomously.
To develop the more advanced “Level 3” hands-free automated driving technology, Nissan will need at least until the late 2020s, Tetsuro Ueda, an expert at Nissan’s mobility service research center, told reporters this month.