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The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has granted Honda permission to begin testing its autonomous vehicle on the roads of California. Honda will be the tenth auto-maker to self-drive in the state.

This isn’t the maiden step by Honda into autonomous car technology, said a report by Reuters. The Japanese auto maker has opened a self-driving cars testing facility in Concord, California.

Honda will soon commence testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads in California. It has also deployed an advanced driver-assistance system in its latest Honda Acura car models.

Apart from California, states like Michigan, Nevada and Florida are also willing to support autonomous testing of vehicles. The California Department of Motor Vehicles granted permission to nine other automakers to test self-driving cars, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Google, Delphi, Tesla, Bosch, Nissan, Cruise Automation and BMW.

Google is investing heavily in autonomous cars and reportedly completed 1.8 million miles in its testing. The search giant started the first test drive of its autonomous Lexus sedans in California and later in Austin, Texas. The company aims to begin mass production by the end of this year under a new company called Google Auto. Apple is also believed to be developing its own autonomous car.

The giant leap to self-driving cars will be marked by a pledge taken by 10 automakers to put automatic braking systems on all their new cars, said News Ledge. The pledge was made to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 10 are Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

A report by telecommunication company Telstra mentions that Australia could save billions of dollars in traffic infrastructure investment with the introduction of autonomous vehicles on public roads. It also states the world can expect fully autonomous vehicles by 2020 based on recent advancements in self-driving car technology.

With the introduction of progressive aspects like adaptive cruise control, lane assist driving, self-parking and collision-avoidance self-braking systems, auto makers are geared-up for a massive entry into the market for autonomous vehicles.

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