Autonomous vehicles

For vehicle manufacturers, operators and insurers, the task of transforming business models will take years of careful planning and investment. The need to develop a deep understanding of the emerging risks associated with new technologies, as well as the emerging legal frameworks, will be a vital component of any investment decision.

High-profile fatalities involving the new technology has the potential to shift the public – and by extension political and regulatory – landscape, delaying the adoption of such innovation for years and potentially decades. Ensuring public confidence throughout this process of innovation and taking every step to raise public awareness around the benefits will be essential in building greater trust and allaying public concerns.

Manufacturers will need to determine if they should redesign their business models to accommodate all different ownership models or whether to focus on one market. This cannot be done in isolation. Collaboration between OEMs is crucial in ensuring we avoid a fragmented approach in operating systems between different jurisdictions. This must be avoided at all costs.

Setting out clear policies on what data is being collected and how this is used is critical to build consumer trust. With regards to data management, there are clear benefits in the creation of a central industry-wide data-hub shared by manufacturers, insurers and government agencies alike.

It is clear that a cross-industry and state-led collaborative effort will be required to create the infrastructure and environment for autonomous vehicle technology to be developed, to accommodate public perception and to put public safety front and centre.

A comprehensive road map must be developed to adopt change and overcome public barriers, with strong communications with citizens a crucial element of this. There is a strong relationship between public understanding of the technology and subsequent levels of support.