A 1st for France: a PSA prototype car travels 580km, from Paris to Bordeaux, in autonomous mode

A first for the automotive industry in France: a PSA prototype car travels 580km, from Paris to Bordeaux, in autonomous mode

Two weeks ago, on Friday, 2 October 2015, one of PSA Peugeot Citroën's four autonomous vehicles travelled the motorway from Paris to Bordeaux to take part in the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress, which ran from 5 to 9 October.

The 580km trip was completed entirely in autonomous mode, without driver involvement. The car autonomously adjusted its speed and changed lanes to overtake, taking into account other vehicles, speed limits and infrastructure.

In July 2015, the Group became the first carmaker to obtain the relevant authorizations to carry out open road tests using four autonomous prototypes, and some fifteen such models in 2016.

PSA Peugeot Citroën works to develop solutions and technologies to make the car of tomorrow smarter, in order to enhance driver comfort and adapt to changing customer behaviour and expectations. 

Autonomous driving features will help cut the number of accidents linked to human error and reduce driver fatigue in monotonous driving situations. These projects will soon be applied to production models, with the gradual deployment of driverless features.

Commenting on this unique achievement in France, Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën said: "The journey made by our prototype today proves that autonomous vehicles are no longer of matter of science fiction. This ushers in a new era for mobility, which I find truly exciting."

ITS World Congress in Bordeaux (5-9 October 2015)

PSA Peugeot Citroën is presenting its autonomous vehicle and its car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication systems at the 22nd ITS World Congress. These systems, which offer a new source of information, use data transmitted by other vehicles and infrastructure to enhance awareness of the vehicle's surrounding environment. 

The idea is to improve road user safety by anticipating certain critical situations to reduce the number of accidents.