Story in numbers: What people feel about autonomous vehicles

Self-driving cars are now firmly within grasp. From automobile players, such as GM, Daimler, Ford, Continental, and Bosch to tech giants, such as Google and Tesla, everyone is making breakthroughs in the space. These organisations are making significant investments in hardware and software capabilities as well as in testing and piloting the vehicles.

Ford will invest $4 billion in its separate Ford Autonomous Vehicles venture over five years. Bosch, the German electronics and engineering company, will invest $4.6 billion by 2022. A study from the Capgemini Research Institute has found that consumer preference for self-driving cars is set to double in the next five years.

While only 25 per cent of consumers would prefer a self-driving car over a traditional vehicle in 12 months’ time, over half (52 per cent) say driverless cars will be their preferred mode of transport by 2024. The response suggests that consumers see huge benefits with autonomous vehicles in terms of fuel efficiency (73 per cent), reduced emissions (71 per cent) and saving time (50 per cent).

What people think about self-driving cars

Consumers trust automotive OEMs over new startups when it comes to these vehicles

54% are comfortable with the self-driving car picking up or dropping off family members 

50% expect self-driving cars to save them time, as much as 6.5 hours a week.

The in-car experience will be critical, with consumers’ wants having implications for many other industries, such as media and entertainment.

63% want to spend the time that self-driving cars save them in socialising.

56% is the share of consumers who would be willing to pay a premium of up to 20% over their current budget for a self-driving car.

• More than half of Chinese consumers surveyed have positive emotions about self-driving cars
• In the UK, positive and negative feelings are more evenly matched, with the 35% who feel positive matched by the same number who report negative emotions

63% of early adopters of autonomous vehicles are male

60% users are below 36 years of age and 68% users live in urban areas