We recently caught up with Rahul to discover if autonomous cars are the future of connected cars. This is what he said…
“Life today would be unimaginable with the absence of different sorts of vehicles. Cars, motorcycles, and public transport, including buses and subways, have provided a convenient and necessary means of mobility to people all across the world. The value of these commodities, in terms of the time saved and the aid they provide during critical situations, cannot be undermined under any circumstances.
However, road safety has become a topic of concern these days everywhere. As more people are able to afford vehicles now, their number on roads has increased considerably. Due to this, the prevalence of road accidents has risen across the globe, including in North America. For example, as per the National Safety Council of the U.S., “In 2019, an estimated 38,800 people lost their lives to car crashes.” and “About 4.4 million people were injured seriously enough to require medical attention in crashes.”
In order to tackle this situation, automobile manufacturers are coming with new features that can help increase the safety of vehicles and pedestrians on roads. One of the major advancements that have occurred in the automobile industry in recent years is the development of autonomous cars. While the adoption of these vehicles has been increasing all across the globe, the scenario is especially interesting in North America.
The North American autonomous car market is predicted to advance rapidly in the next decade. As per P&S Intelligence, the revenue generated by the sale of fully autonomous cars in the continent would rise to $52.3 billion by 2030, at a 17.1% CAGR during2023–2030.
What Are Autonomous Cars?
As the name suggests, an autonomous car is capable of operating without human involvement, by sensing its environment on its own. These cars are equipped with a number of features that allow them to function without the presence of a human driver, just like a traditional car. Autonomous cars are of five types, when their autonomy is considered:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 1, level 2, and level 3 autonomous cars are considered semi-autonomous, whereas level 4 and level 5 vehicles are fully autonomous. At the present time, the adoption of level 1 autonomous cars is the highest, since these vehicles are readily available in the market.
This being said, it is expected that the demand for fully autonomous cars will rise substantially in the near future, as they provide the highest level of autonomy. Self-driving cars are already being considered the future of transportation, which has put a huge emphasis on level 4 and 5 autonomous cars, for which numerous pilot projects are already underway in the U.S.
Government Support Driving Demand for Autonomous Cars in the Region
The government support in the region is playing a crucial role when it comes to the state of adoption of these vehicles. Both state and federal governments in the countries of North America are passing various legislations for encouraging the adoption of autonomous cars.
For instance, 15 states in the U.S. enacted 18 autonomous vehicle-related bills in 2018;in total, 29 states have laid down legislations regarding autonomous vehicles. It is because of such initiatives that the adoption rate of autonomous cars is significantly high in North America.
Connected Car Technology Supporting Adoption of Autonomous Cars
Other than government initiatives, the rapid evolution in the connected car technology is also a key driving factor for the increasing demand for autonomous cars in North America. Connected cars are equipped with a number of features, including:
- Roadside assistance
- Smartphone connectivity with vehicle
- Real-time traffic monitoring
- Traffic and collision warnings
These features have made connected cars highly appealing to people, who constantly want to be in touch with the outside world. The connected car technology has acted as a precursor for the development of autonomous cars. It is much easier to integrate the autonomous technology in these cars as compared to traditional cars.
The two major requirements for vehicle autonomy are vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) connectivity, and since a connected car is already equipped with these features, it can easily be integrated with other autonomous features.
Types of Autonomous Cars
Battery electric vehicles (BEV), internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles can be transformed into autonomous cars, out of which the demand for ICE autonomous cars has been the highest up till now. This being said, the adoption of BEVs is expected to rise considerably in the years to come, which can be ascribed to the increasing focus on electric vehicles and government support for the adoption of battery electric cars.
The strict emission regulations that have been implemented in North America will further drive the demand for BEV-based autonomous cars. Another reason for the rising demand for BEVs would be that autonomous technologies are easier to integrate in these automobiles, since they already have a lot of electronic components.
Geographical Scenario
Between the U.S. and Canada, the adoption of autonomous cars has been higher in the former country up till now. The major reasons for this are the presence of a large number of autonomous car OEMs in the country, who are widely focusing on launching novel car models that have advanced levels of autonomy. Additionally, a large consumer base, which is quite tech-savvy, has also led to high autonomous car sales in the U.S.
In conclusion, the demand for autonomous cars in North America is growing due to the need for increasing the safety on roads, evolution in the connected car technology, and increasing government support for the adoption of these vehicles.”
Who is Rahul?
Rahul has around 2+ years of experience in market research and consulting services for Automotive domain. He holds varied experience in market sizing and forecasting with varied models, competition landscape, consumer behaviour analysis, opportunity analysis, product/company benchmarking, data mining and BOM costing. He has successfully delivered multiple projects in market entry and share analysis and others.
Some of the projects delivered by him include Artificial Intelligence in Transportation Market, Global Electric vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Market and Mobility as-a-Service Market.
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