Imminent driverless vehicles on our roadways is a popular topic among transportation futurists and manufacturers, but a global survey of 65,000 consumers in 10 countries finds that enthusiasm for autonomous and electric vehicles is limited.
In a Global Automotive Mobility Study, global consulting company Arthur D. Little says less than a third of respondents would be willing to use an autonomous vehicle while high purchase prices limited range and lack of charging infrastructure and support remain major barriers for electric vehicles.
“OEMs face a huge communicative challenge in convincing their reluctant customers about autonomous driving,” noted Wolf-Dieter Hoppe, associate director of the automotive practice.
As reported by Fleet Owner, he pointed out that consumers are “very skeptical” concerning the vehicle industry’s biggest trend – autonomous driving – especially in major markets. The poll found that just 29% of respondents in the U.S. would ever intend to use an autonomous vehicle, while 30% have “doubts” about the technology and 40% do not consider using AVs a possibility.
Up to 37% consumers in the poll expressed concern about the safety of AVs – something that needs to be clearly addressed by OEMs, the firm stressed.
On the plus side, the study found self-driving vehicles in traffic jams is the most attractive use case of autonomous or partly autonomous vehicles.