US : ‘Global startup’ vows autonomous car by 2020 in US

This handout illustration obtained March 10, 2017 courtesy of Nio, shows the NIO EVE autonomous vision car of the future. A "global startup" which makes electric racing vehicles unveiled plans on March 10, 2017 to sell a fully autonomous car in the US market by 2020. The company called Nio, founded by Chinese entrepreneur William Li and with offices in Silicon Valley, Europe and China, unveiled a prototype of the vehicle called Eve at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas. According to a Nio statement, the car will be "a digital companion, a robot on wheels" with "an artificial intelligence engine with an intuitive human interface, providing verbal and visual connections both within the vehicle and with the outside world." The sleek sedan will use its glass panels as "an augmented vision for occupants and for new kinds of entertainment," according to the company statement. / AFP PHOTO / NIO / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT AFP PHOTO /NIO/HANDOUT - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
This handout illustration obtained March 10, 2017 courtesy of Nio, shows the NIO EVE autonomous vision car of the future.
A “global startup” which makes electric racing vehicles unveiled plans on March 10, 2017 to sell a fully autonomous car in the US market by 2020. The company called Nio, founded by Chinese entrepreneur William Li and with offices in Silicon Valley, Europe and China, unveiled a prototype of the vehicle called Eve at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas. According to a Nio statement, the car will be “a digital companion, a robot on wheels” with “an artificial intelligence engine with an intuitive human interface, providing verbal and visual connections both within the vehicle and with the outside world.” The sleek sedan will use its glass panels as “an augmented vision for occupants and for new kinds of entertainment,” according to the company statement. / AFP PHOTO / NIO / Handout /