Ford CEO predicts autonomous cars by 2020

The autonomous car will soon be here.

According to Ford's Chief Executive officer, the dawn of the autonomous car age is just five years away.

Speaking at an event leading up to the start of the Consumer Electronics Show, Ford CEO Mark Fields stated that he expects to see self-driving cars on our nation's roads by the end of the decade. Fields didn't say if Ford would be among the first to produce an autonomous vehicle.

"Fully autonomous vehicles are a real possibility,” Fields told Automotive News. "Probably, in the next five years, you'll see somebody introduce autonomous vehicles.”

Fittingly, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its self-driving F 015 concept car on the opening day of CES. The company's vision of a driverless future, the F 015 features a steering wheel that can be completed stowed within the dash.

Several other automakers have vowed to have autonomous vehicles on sale within the next few years, including General Motors' Cadillac and Nissan.

Although a completely autonomous car is still at least half-a-decade away, a number of self-driving elements can be had today, such as adaptive cruise control, active lane departure assist and self parking.