Car giant Ford has said it will build a totally self-driving car for high volume use that will be available in just five years time. The car, which is likely to be a hybrid, will have no steering wheel or pedals and will first be put to use as a driverless taxi. Ford says it aims to dominate the autonomous car market in the coming decade.

The news comes as Ford also announces many new investments in technology groups. It now has a stake in many companies that would be required to support the initiative including mapping, laser production, search engines and machine learning.

Ford Chief Executive, Mark Fields, commented, “Vehicle autonomy could have as big an impact on society as the Ford mass assembly line had over 100 years ago.” He went on to explain that the vehicles would be specifically designed for commercial services such as ride-booking or ride-sharing, with vehicles for personal use not coming until some years later.