#Leapfrog manual drivers#

The German company expects customers will be able to use all the modelвЂ™s self-driving functions next year or in 2019. That is not our logic,вЂќ he told Reuters at the car show.ДЄmong the A8вЂ™s new features is the вЂњtraffic jam pilotвЂќ, which can completely control driving at up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour on a divided highway. вЂњThe fact that Audi is introducing this one now doesnвЂ™t mean that we will rush in the coming months to say that we are able to do it too. вЂњWho will accept to pay for something that they can use only in extremely limited conditions?вЂќ asked Didier Leroy, European chairman of Japanese carmaker Toyota. вЂњItвЂ™s gratifying that we are able to set a positive sign for real вЂVorsprung durch TechnikвЂ™,вЂќ said research and development chief Peter Mertens, referring to AudiвЂ™s advertising slogan meaning вЂњadvancement through technologyвЂќ.Д«ut with special approval still required almost everywhere to drive such a car, and question marks over how quickly the driver has to take back control - and who is responsible during handover - some rivals are skeptical the market is ready. Struggling to emerge from the shadow of parent Volkswagen's VOWG_p.DE diesel emissions scandal, Audi is badly in need of a new prestige model and a marketing coup. On a scale where zero is a fully manual car and five a fully autonomous one, the A8 is a level three, putting it ahead of level two features offered by Tesla and General Motors (GM).

#Leapfrog manual drivers#

REUTERS/Albert Gea/File PhotoДЄt the Frankfurt car show, Audi paraded the A8 which can drive itself under certain conditions, help the driver to change lanes and does not require drivers to monitor the road - though they must be ready to intervene at the sound of an alarm. FILE PHOTO: The new Audi A8 is seen during a presentation at the Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain, July 11, 2017.