Nissan plans to sell self-driving cars by 2020

Self-driving cars could be coming to the market in just a few years, if Nissan sticks to its just-announced plan.

The Japanese automaker said Tuesday it will begin selling autonomous cars by the year 2020.

"In 2007 I pledged that -- by 2010 -- Nissan(NSANF) would mass market a zero-emission vehicle. Today, the Nissan LEAF is the best-selling electric vehicle in history," Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said in a statement. "Now I am committing to be ready to introduce a new ground-breaking technology, Autonomous Drive, by 2020, and we are on track to realize it."

Nissan said it is working with a number of universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon and University of Tokyo to perfect the technology. The company is also building a special testing facility in Japan.

The automaker said it plans to have multiple self-driving models on the market in seven years and to have the technology available across its model range "within two vehicle generations." Cars are typically fully redesigned every five to six years, so that could be within 10 to 12 years.