Self-Driving Cars to Arrive in Five Years: Ford CEO

Few states currently permit self-driving cars on public roads and the laws in states that do are still in their infancy, but that might not be the case for long.

Speaking with Bloomberg at a media dinner before the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Ford CEO Mark Fields said he expects to see self-driving cars reach the market soon. “Probably, in the next five years, you’ll see somebody introduce autonomous vehicles,” he said. Automobile manufacturers are racing to develop vehicles that can navigate traffic without direct input from a driver. Also at CES, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its self-driving F 015 with four seats that can swivel to create a lounge-like environment while retaining the option for manual driver control.

Audi announced today that its self-driving A7 successfully completed the 560-mile trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in order to attend the technology conference. Ford is in the midst of conducting its own self-driving car tests in Michigan while Google, Audi and Mercedes-Benz also hold permits to conduct tests on public roads in California.

Currently California, Nevada, Florida and Michigan are currently the only states that allow autonomous cars on public roads.

[Source: Automotive News]