An analyst note from Deutsche Bank has raised its rating for General Motors shares to buy from hold, saying the company is ahead in the race to deploy autonomous vehicles and will gain a large market share of the autonomous driving market.
Analyst Rod Lache said in the note that GM's autonomous vehicles will be ready for commercial deployment, without human drivers, 'much sooner than widely expected'. He said that could be 'within quarters, not years' and potentially years ahead of competitors.
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General Motors' strong competitive position in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is widely underestimated by investors, according to a Wall Street firm.
Lache estimates up to 60% of US households in cities may find it better to use autonomous vehicle services instead of owning a car. He forecasts more than 2% of US miles driven in 2025 will be through "autonomous on demand mobility", rising to 10% share by 2030.
He also believes that GM could be well positioned to get almost a fifth of the market, helped by being early with the technology.
Ford has announced a collaboration with rideshare firm Lyft and said that it wants to launch an autonomous vehcle to market in 2021. Analysts say that vehicle makers will vie to tie-up with successful rideshare service providers as part of the solution to gaining market presence with driverless cars made available on-demand.
See also: GM partners with Uber, as well as Lyft
