Ford Says It Will Have a Fully Autonomous Car by 2021

by Dee-Ann Durbin, Associated Press

Ford Motor on Tuesday announced it plans to have a fully driverless vehicle on the road within five years. “This is a transformational moment in our industry and it is a transformational moment for our company,” says Ford CEO Mark Fields.

At first the car, which will have no steering wheel or pedals, will be used for commercial ride-hailing or ride-sharing services, with sales to consumers coming later. Other car companies plan to gradually add self-driving capabilities to traditional cars, but Ford is taking the same approach as Google, which supports moving directly to self-driving cars once the technology is perfected.

Although Ford chief technology officer Raj Nair says the company will continue developing systems that assist drivers, such as autonomous emergency braking or lane-departure warning, Ford believes semi-autonomous systems that can operate the car and then give control back to the driver are more dangerous because it is difficult to ensure drivers stay engaged and ready to take over operating the vehicle.

“We learned that to achieve full autonomy, we have to take a completely different path,” Nair says. Ford’s vehicle will be specifically designed for commercial mobility services, and will be available in high volumes.

But Dillon Blake, senior director of business development for Runzheimer, a transportation consulting firm, says Ford’s approach could go wrong very quickly.

“When you do it in steps, you get to make tweaks along the way. When you go all or bust, it’s like going ‘all in’ in Vegas,” Blake said.