Motor shows give journalists a chance to get up close and personal with the industry’s biggest beasts, and there are none larger or more opinionated than Nissan’s (and Renault’s) CEO, Carlos Ghosn.
At a reception prior to the opening of the Detroit motor show tonight, he quickly found himself facing questions inspired by another charismatic auto CEO, Elon Musk, who claimed yesterday that a Tesla would drive itself across the United States within 24 to 36 months.
Nissan regards itself as a leader in autonomous vehicle research, with Ghosn saying last year that he thinks the company will bring one to market in 2020. And it’s fair to say that he didn’t take too kindly to Musk stepping onto his turf.
“I understand there is a marketing war, a lot of announcements, that’s fair, everybody wants a piece of it,” Ghosn said, “but at the same time judge on what is on the market.”
He stood by his prediction that the first self-driving Nissan is at least four years away, and questioned Musk’s frame of reference.
“What is an autonomous car?” he asked. “If it’s a question of being autonomous on one lane on a highway or maybe changing lanes then yes this [something we can do in] 2016 or 2017.
"But if you’re talking about autonomous driving in a city, with crossroads or the car making decisions in complicated situations then frankly I don’t think it’s going to be ready before 2020.”
Ghosn added that, even for a company of Nissan’s size, the problems in the way of a truly autonomous car remain enormous.
“We don’t want the consumer to be just able to buy the car,” he said, “We want him to be able to drive it. If we have the technology but the regulator does not allow you to drive with your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road then this is technology that is very nice but which doesn’t give any advantage.
"The advantage of autonomous drive is a connected car that enables you to video conference or do something else.”
Ghosn also says that he regards self-driving cars as offering a revolutionary improvement in mobility for older or disabled drivers.
“Today a lot of people stop driving because they cannot drive any more,” he said. "This technology is going to enable you to drive until you don’t want to any more.
"You will be able to drive no matter what your handicap, no matter what is your impairment. With this technology you’re going to be able to drive at 80 years old, 90 years old. This is important as the planet is getting older.”
Driverless cars should be useful for getting home from the pub without being arrested as well.