While nearly 60 per cent of consumers in cities around the world are open to self-driving vehicles (SDVs), a significant number want traditional OEMs, rather than technology companies, to lead their development, a report said.

Respondents in France, Germany, and Japan reported the highest levels of trust in traditional OEMs in the new survey by global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Economic Forum.

Acceptance of SDVs is highest in emerging markets, such as China, India, and the United Arab Emirates; it’s around 50 per cent in the US and the UK; and it’s lowest in Japan and Germany.

“This survey is reassuring news for traditional automotive companies,” said Nikolaus Lang, a BCG senior partner based in Munich. “Our results indicate that consumers primarily expect OEMs to play a leading role in the rollout of self-driving vehicles, with technology players such as Apple or Google contributing their relevant expertise.”

Of the 46 per cent of consumers who traditional OEMs over any other type of company to lead the development of SDVs, 69 per cent report a preference for the vehicles to be produced through a partnership between an OEM and a technology company.

In addition, a majority of consumers expect SDVs to be electric or hybrid. The survey results bolster earlier research that identifies obstacles such as cyber security and regulations that all players involved in building SDVs will need to overcome together  to develop win-win solutions.

Nearly 60 per cent of consumers said that they are willing to travel in a vehicle that is fully autonomous. They cite the convenience of parking assistance and an increase in productivity while travelling as the top two reasons for their desire for such cars.

Earlier research by BCG found that US consumers are willing to buy SDVs. In this survey, 53 per cent of global consumers said that they would purchase a fully autonomous car, proving that they are as excited and eager to test SDVs as US consumers are.

Consumers are also willing to pay a premium for self-driving features and convenience: across all the countries surveyed, more than 40 per cent of respondents said that they would be willing to pay a premium, with more than half of them willing to pay more than $5,000 for fully autonomous features.

SDVs ‘reality within 10 years’

Most policy makers in cities who were interviewed expect that SDVs will become a reality within the next 10 years. A number of SDV-related initiatives and pilots are currently in the pipeline in major cities worldwide. These programs are designed to analyze how SDVs will impact consumers and cities and to examine what the future of urban mobility will look like when SDVs are included.

“These survey results provide valuable insight for understanding the necessary design of new urban-mobility models based on self-driving vehicles,” said Alex Mitchell, the head of automotive industry at the World Economic Forum. “While urban policy makers would like to see SDVs serve as a last-mile solution in less densely populated areas, consumers imagine a highly convenient end-to-end type of mobility.”

Concerns about safety, reliability, and lack of control

Though acceptance of SDVs is high, consumers still have serious concerns about safety and reliability. Of the respondents unwilling to take a ride in a fully self-driving car, 51 per cent voiced concerns about feeling unsafe in an SDV, and 45 per cent said that a lack of control was a major barrier for them. These concerns include both the inability to interfere with the car while it was in operation and a perceived risk of cyber attacks.

“Systematically protecting self-driving cars against cyber attacks and creating an adequate regulatory framework for autonomous driving are key requirements for this new type of mobility to develop,” said Antonella Mei-Pochtler, a BCG senior partner based in Vienna.

What’s more, only 35 per cent of parents reported a willingness to allow their children to ride alone in an SDV, though nearly 60 per cent of adults are willing to do so themselves. There is also hesitation regarding sharing rides in a self-driving taxi; however, this hesitation diminishes when steep discounts are offered. The highest willingness to share a self-driving taxi occurs among respondents in countries with densely populated and high-traffic areas, such as China and India.

The survey results show that although many consumers and cities are ready for SDVs, significant barriers to adoption remain. In order to overcome these barriers, a deeper, more widespread understanding of such vehicles’ functionality and benefits must be cultivated, and technology must be further developed to address safety and testing concerns. – TradeArabia News Service