Toyota's first Level-4 autonomous vehicles - that is, self-driving cars that are capable of fully autonomous operation within a defined area of operation - will first appear in commercial applications, the automaker confirmed this week. The Japanese automaker feels that is a necessary first step before its self-driving technology is ready for privately owned passenger vehicles.

Ford and other automakers are taking a similar approach, introducing full autonomy to taxis and delivery vehicles in advance of making the technology available to individual consumers. The technology required for fully autonomous vehicle operation is expensive and resource-intensive, and until automakers have every last kink ironed out, limiting Level-4 autonomous cars to commercial cars will allow automakers to limit the potentially messy repercussions of a still-developing technology.