Daimler AG announced this weekend that it plans to start selling self-driving vehicles by 2020.
Carmakers all-around the world are working to try making driving safer and drivers more comfortable, and at least three companies have now promised to make an autonomous vehicle available for purchase by 2020.
"We want to be the first to launch autonomous functions in production vehicles. You can be sure: we will accomplish that in this decade," Daimler head of development Thomas Weber said, according to Reuters.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz, is trying to regain its position as the best luxury car maker from rival BMW, and the automaker feels creating a self-driving vehicle will help the company accomplish that.
Other companies that have also promised a self-driving car by 2020 include General Motors, and Nissan.
Daimler's vehicle would recognize specific circumstances like traffic lights or urban driving among cyclists and pedestrians, and would allow hand control back to the driver behind the wheel, according to Reuters.
The German company aims to allow the vehicles to drive themselves at speeds of up to 18 mph by 2016, and 37 mph by 2020.
Google has been working on a self-driving vehicle for a while now, and recently the internet search domain company said it might make its own car instead of relying on an automaker to do it for them.
Last year, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law establishing the safety and performance standards for self-driving vehicles in California. After the bill was signed, Google had a number of conversations with automakers and conducted autonomous vehicle technology on a Toyota Prius.
In May, U.S. transportation officials released guidelines for the development of self-driving vehicles, which included "recommendations" for those who are writing laws governing self-driving technology.
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