Honda to focus on self-driving cars and EVs through 2030

Japanese carmaker Honda spelled out for the first time its plans to develop autonomous cars which can drive on city streets by 2025, building on its strategy to take on rivals in the auto market of the future. Unveiling its mid-term Vision 2030 strategy plan, Honda said it would boost coordination between R&D, procurement and manufacturing to tame development costs as it acknowledged it must look beyond conventional vehicles to survive in an industry which is moving rapidly into electric and self-driving cars. The firm has already revealed plans to market a vehicle which can drive itself on highways by 2020, and the new target for city-capable self-driving cars puts its progress slightly behind rivals like BMW. At this time, the Japanese carmaker also said it will these vehicles will be equip with'level 4' standard automated driving functions. This means the cars can drive themselves on highways and city roads under most situations.