In a new pilot program that pinpoints the societal benefits of autonomous driving, Volvo is unleashing a convoy of their latest driverless cars on public roads around the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The program is backed by Swedish Transport Administration and the Swedish Transport Agency who want to position Sweden as the leader in the development of future mobility.

Volvo has made a lot of headway with autonomous driving in recent years. They see this not as some new technology that they need to give a try, but as an integrated part of their future development plans. They really believe that autonomous driving is the most important step to zero traffic fatalities.

Volvo’s driverless cars technology has reached a high enough level for the authorities to allow them on the roads used by normal motorists. In this project, the world’s largest first large-scale autonomous driving pilot, self-driving cars use approximately 50 kilometres of selected roads in and around Gothenburg. These roads are typical commuter arteries and include motorway conditions and frequent queues.

Programs like this pave the way for Volvo’s plan of launching driverless cars you and I could by in near future. The first cars are expected to be on the roads in Gothenburg by 2017.

“Autonomous vehicles are an integrated part of Volvo Cars’ as well as the Swedish government’s vision of zero traffic fatalities. This public pilot represents an important step towards this goal,” says Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Car Group. “It will give us an insight into the technological challenges at the same time as we get valuable feedback from real customers driving on public roads.”