We’re witnessing a turning point in the evolution of the automobile, one that could very well change the way we look at personal transportation forever. At the vanguard of this evolution is Volvo.

Bloomberg reports that the Swedish automaker has plans to sell a model capable of piloting itself down the highway--100% without human intervention.

While that might sound like technology reserved for science fiction films, the report says Volvo aims to have this model out by 2021.

To get there, Volvo will start testing vehicles with advanced self-driving features next year in Sweden, London, and China. According to Bloomberg, Volvo plans on eventually putting about 100 test cars on the road in each country with ordinary customers as drivers.

The project is considered a stepping-stone toward fully autonomous vehicles; self-driving cars that could function independently of human input, and would instead depend on advanced technologies, software, and cloud computing services to operate.

As Bloomberg points out, the road to autonomous vehicles is not one Volvo will be able to achieve alone.

“It’s our ambition to have a car that can drive fully autonomously on the highway by 2021,” Hakan Samuelsson, Chief Executive Officer, said in an interview. “This technology is something as a carmaker you cannot develop by yourself.”

Technology is but one hurdle, and putting hands-free driving on highways within five years will also require laws and regulations to keep up with technological advances.

Whether or not Volvo meets its ambitious goals remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: the next few years will indeed be landmark ones for both Volvo and the automotive industry.

For more information, or to experience many of Volvo’s current lineup of advanced models, contact us online or visit 3Birds Template at 505 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

Image Credit: Volvo