The UK’s early investments in self-driving and connected vehicles will yield significant economic benefits, according to a new report…
‘Considerable Economic Benefits’
The UK is on the verge of a transport revolution; thanks to significant investments in both self-driving and connected car technologies. In fact, according to a new report, self-driving technology will be worth nearly £42 billion by 2035 alone. In addition, it’ll create around 40,000 skilled jobs. The report, which was conducted by researchers at the Connected Places Catapult, Element Energy and Cambridge Econometrics, suggests that 40% of new cars will have self-driving capabilities by 2035. That’s 42% bigger a market share than was estimated by the Market Forecast back in 2017. Moreover, the UK will be in a prime position to make itself a market leader; exporting the technologies around the world and exploiting a rising demand for ‘smart’ mobility options.
Rachel Maclean, the Transport Minister, recently revealed the report’s findings at last week’s CES technology conference. She said, “we’re on the cusp of a driving revolution. Not only could this tech unlock vast opportunities for the UK economy and jobs market, it could significantly improve the safety and efficiency of how we travel over the coming decades”.
Self-Driving Woes
The report’s findings suggest Britain will be in a prime position to develop, and ultimately sell, self-driving and connected car technologies; creating high-skilled jobs and contributing billions to the economy. But there are still a lot of ‘ifs’ involved. Whilst some of the world’s largest legacy automakers and big-tech companies have invested billions in making a truly self-driving car, none have yet gotten close. Tesla’s Elon Musk has repeatedly announced that the company is imminently due to release a ‘full self-driving’ mode, only for targets to be repeatedly missed. Uber has more of less given up on its own initiative, investing in a smaller technology company instead. Ford has also acknowledged that it underestimated the challenges involved making a self-driving car.
Part of the problem lies with making driverless cars safer than manual ones; it’s simply not enough to match a human’s ability, the cars need to exceed it. Potentially millions of driving scenarios also need to be programmed in, and with different weather conditions factored in as well. Then there’s the question of driving legislation catching up in dozens upon dozens of countries. Whether these challenges will be overcome by 2035, ultimately, is a complete mystery.
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