WASHINGTON: Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn has announced at the Mobile World Congress 2015 that company’s autonomous drive technology could be introduced by 2016.
According to Ghosn, the first wave of autonomous drive technology will hit in 2016, which will allow cars to negotiate stop-and-go traffic without the intervention of a driver.
The Alliance is working with governments across the world to get regulatory approves for the introduction of the next generation cars to roads.
In North America, Ghosn says Nissan and Infiniti are entering a growth phase.
In that market he expects Nissan and Infiniti (Renault doesn’t operate in North America) to grow 2-3 percent year on year, eventually swelling Nissan’s market share to an even 10 percent by the end of March 2017.
China, meanwhile, will continue to provide steady growth. India, another key market for Datsun, will also provide further sales for the Renault-Nissan alliance.
Ghosn turns 65 in 2019 (the mandatory age of retirement for Renault employess), and has previously vowed to retire before the end of the decade.
If he can pull off his plan of boosting Renault-Nissan to the number three spot globally by 2018, it will be a fitting legacy for the man who almost singlehandedly brought both companies back from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
