Hyundai to launch semiautonomous car 'Equus' by this year

The South Korea-based automaker, Hyundai Motors will launch its Semiautonomous car 'Equus' by this year.

According to the company officials, the price of 'Equus' would range between from 61,500 dollars to 68,750 dollars, PC World reported.

The company has planned to include "highway driving assistance features" in the vehicle later this year that would allow it to stay in lane, slow down and speed-up accordingly to avoid collisions.

At the Seoul Motor Show, the company officials disclosed that the new car would hit the streets of South Korea and U.S, this year.

Kim Choong-ho, the president and CEO of Hyundai, asserted that it was time for them to take a leap in quality and to lead in the global race for environment-friendly, energy-efficient and high-tech cars.

In its statement, the company also said that Hyundai would focus on the mass production of semiautonomous, driver-assistance technologies and not follow any global tech companies investing in the same. The company stated its goal is to commercialize completely autonomous vehicles.

However, the roadways were not ready for driverless cars, therefore Sohn Joo-chan, director of industrial IT convergence research at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in Daejeon, Korea, admitted that it would be illegal if anyone would drive a Hyundai car on self-driving mode.

Joo-chan also noted that, as the traffic codes and infrastructure needed an update, it would take 10 years for self-driving vehicles to go on the streets in a legal manner.