Nissan has announced that it will have a number of "commercially viable" self-driving vehicles ready for sale by 2020.

This is the first time an automaker has made a pledge to release a self-driving vehicle by a certain date.

"We will be able to bring multiple, affordable fully autonomous vehicles to the market by 2020," Andy Palmer, Nissan's executive vice president, said in a press statement.

Nissan said that it's working with major universities like Stanford, Oxford, MIT, and the University of Tokyo.

The automaker is also working on a special-purpose test track in Japan that will feature "real townscapes" according to USA Today.

Nissan also recently showed off a custom designed Nissan Leaf EV that can drive itself. The Leaf was built with all-around video monitors, laser scanners, and advanced artificial intelligence and actuators, according to the automaker.

"In 2007 I pledged that by 2010, Nissan would mass market a zero-emission vehicle," said Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn in a press statement. "Today, the Nissan Leaf is the best-selling electric vehicle in history. Now I am committing to be ready to introduce a new ground-breaking technology, Autonomous Drive, by 2020, and we are on track to realize it."

Other automakers are working on self-driving vehicles like Audi, Toyota, and Google. The difference however is that none of those companies have made a commitment to release a self-driving vehicle by a certain year.

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