Honda to begin autonomous vehicle testing in Japan

Honda has announced it will begin testing an autonomous vehicle program in Japan this month, as it continues a partnership with General Motors’s Cruise self-driving car company.

The idea of self-driving cars might seem like a long way off, but the automotive industry is quickly progressing towards an autonomous zero-emissions future, with Honda and Cruise soon to join a number of ‘robotaxi’ vehicles currently roaming around the streets of major cities across the world.

The program, known as the Autonomous Vehicle Mobility Service, will be tested in Utsunomiya City and Haga Town in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, with an initial focus on developing a high-definition map of the two areas using a specialised car fitted with dedicated 3D mapping technology.

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Once the map has been developed, which is anticipated to be complete in 2022, the Cruise AV autonomous vehicle will be driven on public roads to test and develop its driving style as it adapts to the traffic environment, as well as the laws and regulations in Japan.

Moving forward, Honda will launch an autonomous vehicle business dubbed Maas for public transportation, using the Cruise Origin robotaxi – a driverless electric vehicle first revealed in January 2020 – developed in conjunction with Cruise and General Motors.

The program between the two companies will be headquartered within a Honda facility in the Tochigi Prefecture area.

Honda has been pushing autonomous vehicles in its home nation, with the soon-to-be-discontinued Japanese-market Honda Legend beating Tesla to the market with level three autonomy earlier this year.

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