Volvo to Test Self-Driving Cars

Swedish-based Volvo Car Group has joined the race to develop self-driving cars, saying it plans to build 100 such vehicles in a pilot project.

The Chinese-owned automaker said Monday it will test its “autonomous” cars on 30 miles (50 kilometers) of selected roads in the Swedish city of Goteborg, starting in 2017.

In what it called “the world’s first large-scale autonomous driving pilot project,” Volvo said the vehicle would assume all driving functions, though the driver “is expected to be available for occasional control.”

Parking would be fully automated, allowing the driver to leave the vehicle as it finds a vacant spot to park by itself.

Though still a long way off for legal and technical reasons, autonomous driving is becoming increasingly possible, by equipping cars with cameras and computers.