The California DMV has added Subaru as the latest member of its list of companies clear to test autonomous driving technology on state roads, bringing the exclusive club to 22 members in total. Subaru is the car-making wing of Japanese transportation company Fuji Heavy Industries, and makes vehicles including the popular Forester and Outback lines.
Subaru already offers advanced driver assist features via its ‘EyeSight’ branded options, with plans to introduce new features including traffic jam autonomous navigation and steering, which is designed to work in traffic with speeds of up to 40 mph. The company also aims to offer highway driving semi-autonomy capabilities by 2020, which will include lane switching and following the road round bends and curves.
California is a target for a lot of companies looking to field autonomous or semi-autonomous driving features in the near future, because of the permitting program introduced by the state’s DMV that makes it possible to run trials on public highways and city streets for companies including automakers and technology providers that meet its requirements and pay its modest lacewings fee.