Honda wants to be first to sell Level 3 autonomous cars

Japan's Honda has announced its intention to become the first carmaker in the world to mass-produce vehicles with level 3 "eyes off" autonomous driving technology which can enable drivers to allow their vehicles to navigate congested roads.

“Honda is planning to launch sales of a Honda Legend (luxury sedan) equipped with the newly approved automated driving equipment” before March 31, 2021, the company said in a press release.

The race to self-driving cars is on of the automotive sectors key tech battlegrounds with companies such as Google parent Alphabet Inc. also having invested billions of dollars in an area which is widely anticipated to boost car sales.

Earlier in the day, Honda received official safety certification from the Japanese government for its autonomous "Trafffic Jam Pilot", which means drivers are legally allowed to take their eyes off the road while the technology is active.

“Self-driving cars are expected to play a big role in helping reduce traffic accidents, provide transportation for the elderly and improve logistics,” said Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

There are six levels of vehicle autonomy, from 0 to 5, ranging from manual cars or those with simple functions such as cruise control to fully self-driving vehicles that would not need steering wheels, or brake and acceleration pedals.

Level 2 cars, which are currently on public roads, can control their own speed and steering, but must have an alert driver able to take control at all times.

In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company was "very close" to achieving level 5 autonomous driving.

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