Alongside the launch Niro EV Concept at CES 2018 in
Las Vegas, Kia revealed that it will commercialize Level 4 autonomous vehicles
in smart cities by 2021.
In a statement, the South Korean carmaker said it
will operate a large-scale test fleet for autonomous technology on public roads
from 2019 before rolling out Level 4 self-driving vehicles in select cities
just two years later.
The brand has failed to reveal what cities it
intends on launching these autonomous vehicles in but asserts it will form part
of a ‘Smart City pilot project.
Speaking about the plans, vice chairman and head of
Kia research and development center Woong-chul Yang said the autonomous plans
will come a few years before the company introduces connected car technologies
to its vehicles from 2025.
