Renault-Nissan head honcho Carlos Ghosn has poured cold water on Elon Musk’s claims that Tesla will have a fully autonomous car on public roads in the near future. While Ghosn announced a year ago that Renault-Nissan would have an autonomous vehicle on the roads by 2020, Musk said a Tesla would be able to drive itself, coast-to-coast across the US, “within 24 to 36 months.”
Speaking at a reception just before the Detroit motor show, Ghosn said, “I understand there is a marketing war, a lot of announcements; that’s fair, everybody wants a piece of it, but at the same time judge on what is on the market.” It was reported by Autocar UK that Ghosn is insistent that a true self-driving car is still some years in the making.
He called into question the definition of an autonomous vehicle, saying if it was just a matter of lane-changing and station-keeping, the technology was already here, or almost ready. “But if you’re talking about autonomous driving in a city, with crossroads or the car making decisions in complicated situations, then frankly I don’t think it’s going to be ready before 2020,” said Ghosn.
“This technology is going to enable you to drive until you don’t want to any more. You will be able to drive no matter what your handicap, no matter what your impairment is. With this technology, you’re going to be able to drive at 80 years old, 90 years old. This is important as the planet’s population is getting older,” said Ghosn.
Nissan unveiled the IDS Concept – a self-driving EV – at the Tokyo motor show in October 2015. Designed for both manual and piloted modes, the IDS Concept features a 60 kW battery along with ‘Artificial Intelligence’ that adapts the car’s driving modes to the driver’s preference.
