China's 'most advanced' autonomous experiment coming
Volvo says it plans to launch a pilot program in China in the near future aimed at reducing collisions through the use of autonomous technology.
Billed by the automaker as the country's "most advanced autonomous driving experiment," the initiative will involve as many as 100 vehicles on public roads in everyday driving conditions.
"Autonomous driving can make a significant contribution to road safety," Volvo president and CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement prefacing a presentation he made in Beijing.
"The sooner (self-driving) cars are on the roads, the sooner lives will start being saved."
As well as reducing the number of collisions, Volvo says it believe autonomous vehicles will help reduce pollution and traffic congestion, and allow drivers to make better use of their time.
Volvo claims independent research shows autonomous technology has the potential to reduce the number of car accidents "very significantly," and says as much as 90 per cent of all collisions are caused by human error.
It did not cite the source of the data.
"There are multiple benefits to (autonomous vehicles)," Samuelsson said. "That is why governments need to put in place the legislation to allow (them) onto the streets as soon as possible.
"The car industry cannot do it all by itself. We need governmental help."
The pilot program is part of Volvo's commitment that no one will be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo by the year 2020.
Volvo says it plans to launch negotiations with interested cities in China in the coming months.
