Most if not all major automakers are working on the same time-frame, though Hyundai does not expect fully autonomous vehicles to be ready for the market until 2030.
Hyundai’s roadmap starts with highway-driving assist, which will begin rolling out in the second half of this year. Like similar features from other companies, the technology will help hold a lane and manage cruise control to maintain a certain distance from traffic ahead. The company hopes to differentiate its technology by integrating automatic traffic-jam avoidance, according to a Korea Herald report.
“We aim to provide partially automated driving in 2015, highly automated driving in 2020 and fully automated driving in 2030,” a Hyundai official said at a demonstration event outside of Seoul.
Other automakers will also begin phasing in the technology over the next five years, likely starting with comprehensive automatic-braking and highway-driving assist before moving to more advanced technology. Similar announcements have been made by Audi, Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Tesla Motors, among others.
One research firm suggests the shift toward autonomous vehicles will be exponential, with more than nine percent of new cars either semi- or completely-autonomous by 2035. In the meantime, the technology will remain relatively expensive through 2025 and consequently installed on a small fraction of production cars.
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