Toyota Adds Level 2 Autonomy to Lexus LS Sedan

Toyota Motor Corp. says its redesigned Lexus LS luxury sedan will offer an array of driver aids that “can lead to automated driving.” The car is due this autumn.

The feature package, dubbed Lexus CoDrive, will provide variable-speed cruise control, automatic lane-keeping, automated emergency braking and active steering assist. The array corresponds to what the auto industry considers Level 2 “partial automation,” or the ability to automatically control speed and steering under certain circumstances.

But Toyota doesn’t claim the system enables autonomous driving. Level 2 automation assumes the driver is constantly ready to take control of the vehicle, a condition the company underscores .

“We don’t want our customers to mistakenly believe that the driver doesn’t have to do anything,” Kiyotaka Ise, who heads advanced safety technologies for the company, tells reporters. Toyota does expect to eventually build truly autonomous cars. But it doesn’t expect to offer vehicles capable of driving themselves even on limited types of roads until at least 2020.