VW's self-parking car

Volkswagen has revealed a new system that will automatically park a car without a driver at the wheel.

Called Park Assist Vision, it is fully automatic and reverse-parks a car while the driver stands outside. Once the car is parked, the engine is automatically cut and the doors locked.

VW says the system will be useful for parking a car in a tight space, where there is little room on either side for occupants to squeeze out of the car.

The driver selects a space using the car's navigation system, puts the car in the correct gear and then gets out of the car and pushes a button on a remote control.

Cameras in each door mirror and in the front and rear bumpers then help guide the car into the space.

The driver can stop the operation at any time by the pushing a button on the remote control.

Although VW has demonstrated the system on a Passat estate, it says it is not yet ready for sale on production vehicles - one obvious problem is how drivers get back in the car if it is parked into a particularly tight space.

The company already sells a semi-automatic system, called Park Assist, which helps drivers parallel-park by steering the car as they accelerate and brake. It is available on the Tiguan and Passat.