Highly autonomous cars are expected to become significant in the European marketplace from 2025, according to a study undertaken by KPMG.
The study, commissioned by the SMMT, examined the impact of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies on the UK’s automotive sector, identifying a sizeable economic opportunity ahead.
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During the course of the study, KPMG talked to OEMs and other participant companies to talk about likely future timelines for advanced technologies’ rollout.
“High autonomy – sometimes called level 4 or level 5 autonomy – looks like 2025 and towards 2030 as a realistic timeframe to expect these vehicles on the roads,” said John Leech, UK head of automotive at KPMG.
Level 4 autonomous control entails fully driverless vehicle operation in certain driving situations and environments – for example, remote parking and automated driving on urban highways. Level 5 is autonomous control on a full end-to-end journey.
“The majority of automotive OEMs we interviewed expect fully autonomous technology to become available after 2025,” Leech says.
Leech also points out that significant hurdles to implementation of fully autonomous technolgy remain, such as refining decision-making algorithms and dealing with cyber security.
“Given the size of the vehicle fleet, it will also take many years for the technology to roll out without a scrappage scheme to accelerate it,” he points out.
See also: SMMTCONNECT: Connected cars could give huge boost to the economy – SMMT
