Audi A8 will become the first mass-produced autonomous driving car, and BMW and Mercedes-Benz are not far behind

According to European Automotive News, the Audi A8 flagship sedan that will be launched this year will be equipped with L3 autonomous driving technology. At that time, the A8 will become Audi's first mass-produced model equipped with autonomous driving function, and Audi will also become the first car brand to have a mass-produced autonomous driving model.

However, since the legislation of various governments has not opened up this function, the Audi A8 will not launch this function when it is launched. In March last year, an amendment to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic passed in 1968 on vehicle autonomous driving technology officially came into effect. As one of the first countries to plan to implement the amendment, Germany is currently discussing the formulation of relevant laws.

The law is expected to be approved by the upper house of the German parliament within a few weeks. In the draft, the German government has clarified the circumstances under which the driver can hand over control of the vehicle to the vehicle, so there are no false expectations. In addition, the vehicle will be equipped with a "black box" to record all handover protocols. In the event of a collision, investigators can find out whether it was a person or a system that controlled the vehicle at the time of the accident.

The Audi A8 will have Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities, which is also known as "conditional autonomous driving" by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The Audi A8 with this feature will be able to drive at less than 60 kilometers per hour on congested highways. Once the driver enables the Level 3 autonomous driving function, they can read in the car, browse the morning news on a tablet or reply to emails. However, taking a nap is unlikely because the vehicle will issue a takeover request once the road conditions require the driver to take control. Typically, the vehicle will give the driver 8 to 10 seconds to assess the road conditions and then regain control of the vehicle.

At the 2016 performance conference, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said that on the basis of safety, once the government allows vehicles with autonomous driving functions to be on the road, the Audi A8 can be equipped with L3 level autonomous driving functions.

Currently, models that claim to have a "hands-free driving" function (such as Tesla) are actually L2-level autonomous driving functions or "partial autonomous driving functions." In this case, the driver needs to pay attention to the road conditions at all times and need to regain control of the vehicle in an instant.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

At the same time as the new Audi A8 is launched, the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class will also be launched this fall. According to reports, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class will also have advanced autonomous driving functions, but not L3 level autonomous driving technology.

Daimler's head of automotive research and development, Ola Kallenius, said at the Geneva Motor Show that the Mercedes-Benz S-Class's autonomous driving technology "does not transfer driving responsibilities directly from the driver to the vehicle." Kallenius went on to add that the Mercedes-Benz S-Class will provide a "very, very mature L2 autonomous driving system."

Daimler said the updated S-Class will be able to slow down for turns, accelerate on non-highway roads and change lanes automatically like the E-Class.

Previously, Daimler has reached a research and development cooperation agreement with Bosch, and the two parties will test vehicles with L4 and L5 autonomous driving functions in the suburbs around 2021.

BMW iNext

As another luxury car manufacturer, BMW said that the iNext model launched in 2021 will provide L3 level autonomous driving functions. Elmar Frickenstein, senior vice president of BMW autonomous driving, has said that technically, BMW is able to provide L4 and L5 level autonomous driving functions. However, no specific decision has been made yet.

At this year's Geneva Motor Show, BMW CEO Harald Krueger pointed out that BMW's autonomous driving technology will jump directly from L2 level to L4 level.

According to SAE, L4 is "advanced automation". At this level, the vehicle can perform most driving functions, but the driver can still regain control. L5 is also called "full automation". Vehicles with this level of autonomous driving function will no longer need a steering wheel and can complete all driving tasks.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.