Just a week ago the NHTSA and IIHS made a public announcement that twenty auto manufacturers came to an agreement to incorporate an automatic emergency braking as a standard system in their models by the year 2020. And Toyota was part of that group.

The surprise came this week, when the brand announced its plans to include standard automatic braking on almost all Toyota and Lexus models across all trim levels... as early as next year.

If you're a Toyota fan, you know that they already offer automatic braking as an additional package on a lot of their models (think Lexus Safety System+ and Toyota Safety Sense). But what Toyota is promising is that by 2017, their Toyota 4Runner, Toyota 86 and Lexus GS models will be available with the AEB system at no additional cost.

AEB is included in Toyota's safety suites which is available for the 25 Lexus and Toyota models. It features a special precollision system which analyzes the potential risk of a collision with the car in front, and if needed activates the brakes to avoid an accident. Other features alert the driver during lane departure, as turn on the high beams automatically.

Competitors are lagging. Honda's Sensing system, which also relies on automatic braking technology, comes at an additional $1,000 on their Civic Sedan models.

So, we can safely say that Toyota is setting a progressive trend.