Honda Obtains Level 3 Autonomous Driving Certification in Japan... Commercialization Scheduled for March Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Japanese car brand Honda announced on the 11th that it has obtained type certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan for meeting the conditions of 'Level 3' autonomous driving and will commercialize Level 3 autonomous vehicles.

With this 'Level 3' autonomous driving type certification, the autonomous driving system will be able to operate the vehicle on behalf of the driver under specific conditions such as congested highways. Honda plans to launch the sedan 'Legend' equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving equipment called 'Traffic Jam Pilot' in March next year.

Recently, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revised part of the Road Traffic Act this year to promote the commercialization of autonomous vehicles, and Level 3 autonomous driving equipment will be subject to the revised safety standards. Among autonomous vehicles worldwide, Honda is the first to receive government approval for Level 3 commercial sales. Previously, German Audi unveiled the world's first Level 3 autonomous vehicle, but it has not yet been commercialized due to the lack of related legal arrangements in Europe.

Honda stated, "We will continue to lead the advancement of safety technology while providing people around the world with the joy of driving and freedom of mobility, bringing happiness and inspiring them."

Meanwhile, the development level of autonomous driving technology is classified into six stages according to the definition by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the United States. Level 0 refers to conventional vehicles without autonomous driving functions, Level 1 includes driving assistance features such as automatic braking and adaptive cruise control. Level 2 requires constant supervision by the driver under partial autonomous driving. From Level 3, conditional autonomous driving, the vehicle controls safety functions and sends signals when occupant control is needed. Level 4 is high-level autonomous driving where driver control is unnecessary regardless of the surrounding environment, and Level 5 is full autonomous driving, meaning unmanned vehicles that operate without a human onboard.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.