Photo: Nissan
Like it or not, driverless cars are apparently the newest trend in the business. Automakers are all in a fierce competition where each and every one of them is boasting about when this technology will hit the streets. The latest member of the “gang” seems to be the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which just announced the launch of more than 10 self-driving cars in the next four years.
The Alliance has revealed that the new range of vehicles will have autonomous capabilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and of course, China, by 2020. The technology will be available at affordable prices as it will be installed on mass-market cars.
Nissan-Renault will also launch a bunch of connectivity applications that will help people stay connected to work, entertainment or social media.
Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Alliance’s chairman and CEO, stated that “Renault-Nissan Alliance is deeply committed to the twin goals of ‘zero emissions and zero fatalities’[...]That’s why we are developing autonomous driving and connectivity for mass-market, mainstream vehicles on three continents.”
The company already paved its way into the green car market by becoming the industry’s leader so far, as the Alliance delivered almost 300,000 all-electric vehicles to its clients since the first Nissan LEAF was sold in San Francisco in 2010.
Safety and efficiency across the company’s vehicle range increased, as fatal and severe injuries in Nissan vehicles in Japan decreased 61 percent in 20 years, while in Renault cars in France, the rate of injuries decreased by 80 percent in 15 years.
Every carmaker insists that autonomous driving will help further reduce driver error, which is responsible for more than 90 per cent of all fatalities. Unfortunately, as recent studies showed, there are still a few flaws in this matter. Apparently, self-driving cars achieved a crash-rate double than that of vehicles with human drivers. There is still time to fix that, though.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is taking it step by step, as this year it will launch vehicles with “single-lane control,” a feature that will help cars drive autonomously on highways, even in heavy traffic.
In 2018, the company will reveal its “multiple-lane control,” which can negotiate dangers and switch lanes on the highway.
Finally, 2020 will mark the debut of “intersection autonomy,” which will enable driverless cars to navigate city intersections and heavy urban traffic, allowing drivers to sit back and enjoy.
The Alliance has a busy schedule in the automotive app area, as this year it will launch an application for mobile devices that allows drivers to remotely interact with their cars. Next year, it will unveil the first “Alliance Multimedia System,” providing new multimedia and navigation features, improved smartphone integration and wireless map updates. In 2018, the Virtual Personal Assistant feature for individual and business customers will be unveiled as well.
Since 2014, engineers from Nissan and Renault have been working together to reduce duplication in the development of next-generation technologies. In short, the engineers developed a “technology toolkit” that the Alliance’s brands may select for their models, where appropriate.
Nissan-Renault started its year by bringing fresh forces on board, in the person of Ogi Redzic, who will lead the global car group’s connected car initiative as senior vice president of Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services.
Redzic is mostly known for his contribution to giant companies such as Nokia, NAVTEQ, Motorola or the start-up cyberPIXIE.
The Alliance has an R&D budget of about $5 billion, research centers in Japan, France, Michigan and California, as well as large engineering centers in India, Brazil, Romania, Turkey and China.
Nissan-Renault will also launch a bunch of connectivity applications that will help people stay connected to work, entertainment or social media.
Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Alliance’s chairman and CEO, stated that “Renault-Nissan Alliance is deeply committed to the twin goals of ‘zero emissions and zero fatalities’[...]That’s why we are developing autonomous driving and connectivity for mass-market, mainstream vehicles on three continents.”
The company already paved its way into the green car market by becoming the industry’s leader so far, as the Alliance delivered almost 300,000 all-electric vehicles to its clients since the first Nissan LEAF was sold in San Francisco in 2010.
Safety and efficiency across the company’s vehicle range increased, as fatal and severe injuries in Nissan vehicles in Japan decreased 61 percent in 20 years, while in Renault cars in France, the rate of injuries decreased by 80 percent in 15 years.
Every carmaker insists that autonomous driving will help further reduce driver error, which is responsible for more than 90 per cent of all fatalities. Unfortunately, as recent studies showed, there are still a few flaws in this matter. Apparently, self-driving cars achieved a crash-rate double than that of vehicles with human drivers. There is still time to fix that, though.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is taking it step by step, as this year it will launch vehicles with “single-lane control,” a feature that will help cars drive autonomously on highways, even in heavy traffic.
In 2018, the company will reveal its “multiple-lane control,” which can negotiate dangers and switch lanes on the highway.
Finally, 2020 will mark the debut of “intersection autonomy,” which will enable driverless cars to navigate city intersections and heavy urban traffic, allowing drivers to sit back and enjoy.
The Alliance has a busy schedule in the automotive app area, as this year it will launch an application for mobile devices that allows drivers to remotely interact with their cars. Next year, it will unveil the first “Alliance Multimedia System,” providing new multimedia and navigation features, improved smartphone integration and wireless map updates. In 2018, the Virtual Personal Assistant feature for individual and business customers will be unveiled as well.
Since 2014, engineers from Nissan and Renault have been working together to reduce duplication in the development of next-generation technologies. In short, the engineers developed a “technology toolkit” that the Alliance’s brands may select for their models, where appropriate.
Nissan-Renault started its year by bringing fresh forces on board, in the person of Ogi Redzic, who will lead the global car group’s connected car initiative as senior vice president of Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services.
Redzic is mostly known for his contribution to giant companies such as Nokia, NAVTEQ, Motorola or the start-up cyberPIXIE.
The Alliance has an R&D budget of about $5 billion, research centers in Japan, France, Michigan and California, as well as large engineering centers in India, Brazil, Romania, Turkey and China.
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