The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) claimed Europe’s first live demo of network technology connecting vehicles from different manufacturers, a system said to pave the way for commercial deployment of advanced safety features in 2020.

Its trial used C-V2X protocols, based on 3GPP standards, a system designed to facilitate secure communication between a range of vehicles in addition to connecting them to surrounding roadside infrastructure.

The system used technology from Qualcomm, sensor company Savari, Ford, BMW, Groupe PSA and was supported by the 5GAA.

Use cases demonstrated included vehicle-to-vehicle collision avoidance and connectivity to traffic signals and traffic management centres. The group said the result “underscores its commercial readiness for industry deployment as early as 2020”.

5GAA chairman Christoph Voigt added: “We are excited to witness the growing momentum behind this life-saving technology and to see our members working together to deploy C-V2X, and to make it hit the road as soon as possible.”

5GAA is a cross-industry group, which counts Telefonica, Vodafone, Ford, BMW and Huawei among its members.

The organisation was formed to support the development of advanced connected car and autonomous vehicle technology.

Its European trial follows similar demonstrations in the US held in April.