Nearly every automaker in the world is working toward some form of autonomous driving technology. Volvo happens to be one of the more aggressive in this field right now and looks to be ready to present more self-driving vehicles sooner than any other company. Currently, Volvo has partnered with Uber to help bring autonomous Uber vehicles to the Pittsburgh area with Detroit as the next target, but the idea of offering this autonomous technology for you to enjoy in your own vehicle is the next big step for Volvo and they just might be the first to market with fully autonomous technology.
Currently, their plan is to have at least 100 self-driving XC90 models on the road in Sweden by 2017. These vehicles will be sold to specific customers and be offered as part of a pilot program to allow them to learn more about what is needed on these vehicles to make them have the right technology to be able to perform at their best without a driver. While this program is in its early stages, Volvo already has a plan in place as to how they are going to present their autonomous driving technology to the public when they’re ready to offer it as part of their fleet.
The plan for Volvo is to offer autonomous driving features on their vehicles by the year 2021. This will give them five years to study and develop the technology and it will put the ownership of any accidents squarely on the shoulders of the owners of the vehicles themselves. When this type of driving is offered publicly, the plan is to offer it as an option on the models they choose, certainly, the XC90 will be part of that, and make it a $10,000 option that can be chosen when desired.
While there’s no guarantee that Volvo will be the first to market with autonomous technology, the fact that they already have a suggested price and know what they plan to do and when makes me think they are close. Of course, it seems like the folks at Tesla might be even closer to bringing autonomous technology to market since they already have the Autopilot system in some of their vehicles. This system is fairly close to being an autonomous system, but as we’ve learned over the past several months with the accidents that have taken place, it’s nowhere near ready to be driverless.
Volvo claims that when self-driving is fully developed not only will you be able to have a vehicle that can drive itself wherever you need to go without your assistance, but you’ll have a vehicle that as much as fifty percent more efficient because of its improved driving style. This will make your driving experience better and save fuel costs at the same time, giving you what you want on the road and from behind the wheel. The only question left to be answered is whether or not Volvo will be first to market with this technology; the race is on and its heating up quickly.
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