Volvo is planning to embark in a new experiment involving self-driving cars in China, where they would deploy 100 self-driving cars for local drivers to test.

Chinese drivers will test the self-driving on public roads in everyday conditions. It will be conducted in limited driving situations such as on express roads and highways. The company will hold discussions with Chinese officials to scout for possible cities that can accommodate its autonomous cars in terms of regulations and infrastructure.

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The self-driving car experiment is part of Volvo's Drive Me program. The company also wants to take advantage of the pledges central government policymakers in China that supports futuristic technologies like self-driving cars.

Erik Coelingh, senior technical leader for safety and driver support technologies at Volvo said that the company is trying to understand how autonomous driving this can bring an impact to society and customers as well. Volvo claims that it represents a leap into the future for truly autonomous vehicles by allowing the driver to sit back and relax while on the road.

“Autonomous driving can make a significant contribution to road safety. The sooner AD cars are on the roads, the sooner lives will start being saved … There are multiple benefits to AD cars. That is why governments need to put in place the legislation to allow AD cars onto the streets as soon as possible. The car industry cannot do it all by itself. We need governmental help,” said Volvo President and CEO Hakan Samuelsson.

The Swedish automaker aims to develop autonomous cars to materialize their commitment that no one will be injured or killed in a new Volvo vehicle by 2020. Volvo chooses China to start the experiment because its cities are congested enough, making the country one of the harder places in the world for people to drive and it will definitely be a challenge for the drivers and the cars as well.

Volvo is not first automaker to build a self-driving cars. Among other companies who are into technology are Tesla, Mercedes, Audi and Alphabet Inc's Google.

Tagsvolvo, china, Self-Driving Car, Tesla, Volvo self-driving car