ROMA – Surprise: cars equipped with autonomous driving technology resist better, in economic terms, the passage of time. And therefore one of the main factors to take into account when we are about to buy a new car is to ascertain whether or not it has technology of this type. This is decreed by a research conducted by Equs Italia – a European company created to create value guarantee certifications in the automotive sector – which also managed to establish that a vehicle equipped with level 2 autonomous driving will have, over time, an evaluation of at least 25% more than the same car that does not have one. This is no small feat, also considering that the second-hand market represents an important slice of the automotive sector. In February, the trend was in line with that of the new one, with a decline of 10% and 303,046 changes of ownership gross of mini-revolutions, against 336,634 in February 2020.
But numbers apart and having to give a concrete example on the basis of TiVale – the digital certification of value guarantee offered by Equs Italia and dedicated to cars, motorcycles and E-bikes up to over 10 years of life – a DS 3 Crossback with 45,000 km and equipped with level 3 autonomous driving, it will have, in 36 months, an 11% higher rating than a same DS 3 Crossback with level 0 autonomous driving. The guarantee certification is produced thanks to sophisticated algorithms capable of to predict the value of the car up to over 10 years, with 96% efficiency. This guarantee is dedicated to consumers, manufacturers, finance companies, dealers and retailers, to protect customers from market devaluations. “Knowing the levels of autonomous driving and knowing what they consist of is important for three reasons”, explains Davide Mistrangeli co-founder of Equs Italia. “The first is obviously the safety factor that these technologies offer to the driver, passengers and other motorists, significantly reducing the risk of an accident; the second is linked to the value that these technologies guarantee the vehicle over time; the third concerns the advantages that could be had in the future on policy costs due to the reduction of risks “.
But what does Autonomous Driving mean? Basically it is the possibility of a car to relieve the driver of certain tasks thanks to a series of technologies, commonly called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that can interact with each other. But beware: the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has classified driver assistance devices into various levels, from 0 to 5.
Level 0 is obviously the lowest, which essentially correspond to normal cars: there is no autonomy and it is the driver who has to take care of everything, without any electronic support. Autonomous driving technologies therefore begin with level 1. Rather than automation, it would be more correct to speak of “driver support”, specifically in steering and accelerating or braking, but not at the same time. Level 1 provides systems that can intervene on the longitudinal or lateral control of the car by acting on speed and direction, by intervening on the brakes, accelerator and steering. The driver is required to keep his hands on the steering wheel and his feet ready on the pedals. Typical systems of a level 1 are the Lane assist or centering, which acts autonomously on the steering to keep the car in the center of the lane and the adaptive Cruise Control, which intervenes on the accelerator and brake to keep the vehicle at a certain speed, so as not to risk colliding with the vehicle in front.
With Level 2, the aforementioned system also adds a technology called Traffic Jam Assist, Autosteer, Highway Assist, Driver Assist (depending on the brand of the car). An example is found on the Suzuki Swift Hybrid: this vehicle has an automatic emergency braking system with pedestrian recognition; a system that warns the driver if he is leaving the lane and helps him to keep it by acting autonomously on the steering; another, called “Restasveglio”, which monitors the driver for any sleep strokes; a system that recognizes the road signs along the way and finally a system that constantly monitors the blind spots of the vehicle even when reversing.
Level 3 is the one in which the car is able to manage driving in ordinary conditions, managing acceleration, braking and direction, while the driver intervenes in problematic situations in the event of a request from the system or if he himself verifies adverse conditions. Currently, there are very few vehicles on the market with this level and it can be found, for example, in the new DS 3 Crossback and on top of the range vehicles such as the new Audi A8 and the Tesla Model S, Model X and Model 3.
With Level 4 driving is almost completely autonomous and the system is able to handle any eventuality. The pedals are gone and we are finally passengers on our car. Level 4 provides that, in the event that the driver does not regain control, the system intervenes by bringing the car to a safe position. Finally, level 5 corresponds to complete automation. There are currently no vehicles on the market with these two levels of autonomous driving.
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