A fully autonomous electric vehicle was showcased for the first time in South Africa at the 2019 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Conference.
The joint Mobility and Sport Conference signifies the integration between mobility and sport within the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile(FIA) and countries that are members of FIA, according to a statement released by the Automobile Association (AA).
The AA said the conference was held under the theme ‘Stronger Together’ and brought together close to 500 delegates from 117 different countries.
The event took place in conjunction with the FIA Region 1 Spring Meeting and FIA Sport Regional Congress and was being held in Africa for the time in the FIA’s history.
Transport minister Blade Nzimande and the President of the FIA, Jean Todt were given an opportunity to drive the Navya Autonomous Electric Shuttle, the first autonomous, driverless, fully electric, commercially available vehicle demonstrated in South Africa.
“Autonomous transport technologies have the potential to change the act of driving and the perception of mobility. The FIA has long acknowledged the benefits these could bring to revolutionise transport systems, making them cleaner, safer, and more accessible, especially in urban areas,” said the AA.
The launch event was to highlight the opportunities and challenges of these innovations, the necessity to develop and monitor independent trials in real conditions to build user confidence, and the regulatory changes required for these new vehicles to safely transition to the road.
“This demonstration in South Africa is one of the first trials on the African continent where the road mortality rate is almost 50 percent higher than the world average, and 85 to 95 percent of the fleet is made of used vehicles,” said AA.
Todt welcomed the initiative and encouraged authorities to adopt strategies for automation to address these mobility challenges.
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