Honda’s new development strategy will focus on electrified powertrains as well as self-driving cars, with level 4 autonomous vehicles expected to hit the streets by 2025.
During its mid-term Vision 2030 strategy plan, Honda said that it would boost coordination between R&D, procurement and manufacturing, looking beyond conventionally-powered and operated vehicles, as reported by Autonews.
“We’re going to place utmost priority on electrification and advanced safety technologies going forward,” said Honda CEO, Takahiro Hachigo.
While the Japanese automaker already announced a vehicle that can drive itself by the year 2020, the new target is to have city-capable autonomous vehicles ready by 2025, a time frame that puts them slightly behind rivals such as the BMW Group, Ford and Nissan.
In order to build level 4 autonomous vehicles (meaning capable of driving themselves on highways and city roads under most conditions), Honda needs to invest in artificial intelligence to detect traffic movements, as well as to develop a wide array of cameras and sensors that can help the car steer around obstacles.