Volvo apparently recognizes that drivers still want to drive, and will do so even when
autonomous vehicles become the norm. The company’s CEO
told Autocar the company’s efforts will focus on situations where driving is boring, like motorways.
“We have no ambition to have a car that could drive in urban environments from A to B,” CEO Håkan Samuelsson told AC during the press briefing surrounding the debut of its 40-series
concept cars. “If you’re a normal consumer, is that really what you are dreaming about? We believe more that in a situation where it’s not really fun to drive, you can switch on the autopilot and then sit back and do something else, using that time more productively. That is the product we are developing.”
Sounds like Volvo’s
listening to the people. Samuelsson also reiterated his company’s pledge to accept liability for the actions of its autonomous vehicles.
“If you want to be in that market, you have to take that liability,” Samuelsson told
Autocar. “If you’re not ready to do that then you must do something else. Volvo would not market something you can switch on and then relax if it’s not a redundant system which is absolutely safe and secure.”
That’s similar to what Sameulsson
said last October, although his words were a little bit more pointed back then: “If you are not ready to make such a statement, you shouldn’t try to develop an autonomous system.”
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