Autonomous Vehicle Market Overview
The global autonomous vehicle market has observed considerable technological development in the recent years, due to which the demand for these vehicles are gaining pace. Rising focus on vehicle safety backed by governments’ regulations to incorporate safety features in vehicle will aid the growth of the market. In addition, growing vehicle sharing market, coupled with increasing customers’ requirement for ease in driving is further expected to benefit the growth of the market.
On the basis of level of automation, the autonomous vehicle market has been categorized into semi-autonomous and fully autonomous. The autonomous vehicles are currently recognized under five levels of autonomy, ranging from Level 0 to Level 5. The autonomy levels from 1 to 3 comes under semi-autonomous category and Level 4 and Level 5 are considered as fully autonomous vehicles. The highest level of autonomy achieved till date is Level 3, whereas Level 4 autonomy is expected to be introduced to customers by 2021. Furthermore, Level 5 autonomous vehicles may take time and might get introduced in mid-2025s.
Based on advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), the autonomous vehicle market has been classified into adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, automatic parking, and others. Among these, the market for vehicle with automatic emergency braking system is projected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, owing to governments’ mandates regarding implementation of automatic emergency braking system. For instance, in the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set a standard to mandate the automatic emergency braking systems in vehicles by 2022. The regulations made by governments to mandatorily implement these systems in vehicles will act as a growth driver for the market.
Geographically, North America dominated the autonomous vehicle market, in terms of volume, during the historical period. Technological advancement in the region along with major technological innovators such as Microsoft Corporation, Google LLC, and Aptiv PLC, which are significantly investing in research and development, and testing of technologies of autonomous vehicles and for commercializing them, is a key driver to propel the market for autonomous vehicles in the region.
Autonomous Vehicle Market Dynamics
Drivers
Growing concern of safety and security by customers has resulted in the demand for advanced technologies, leading to the demand for upgradation in semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicle technologies have capabilities to significantly affect safety, congestion, and energy use. For instance, there were around 34,200 fatal automobile crashes in the U.S. in 2017, which led to about 37,000 deaths. The use of autonomous vehicles can vividly reduce the number of automobile crashes and offer customers’ safety.
In 2010, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) anticipated that if all automobiles have sideview (blind spot) assist, forward collision and lane departure warning systems, and adaptive headlights, almost a third of fatalities and crashes can be prevented. Thus, manufacturers and technology innovators are focusing more on improving security of customers by implementing autonomous technologies and hence, boosting the growth of the autonomous vehicle market.
Restraints
Lack of infrastructure in developing nations, data management challenges, and high upfront cost are the major restraints hampering the growth of the autonomous vehicle market across the globe. Many countries are still lacking the vehicle connectivity infrastructure, which is hindering the progress and adoption of the autonomous vehicles. Rebuilding of roads equipped with sensors and other smart infrastructure is necessary, so that fully autonomous vehicles can be able to drive without any human interaction, is a major challenge faced by several countries.
Autonomous Vehicle Market Competitive Landscape
In recent years, many tech companies, automakers, research institutions, software start-ups, telecom providers, insurance companies, and others have joined forces to accelerate the growth and development of autonomous vehicles and expand the autonomous vehicle market. For instance, in 2016, General Motors capitalized $500 million in Lyft Inc., an on-demand transportation company based in the U.S., to expand its research and development (R&D) with Honda Motor Company Ltd., Volkswagen AG, and Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd. Similarly, in 2016, Toyota Motor Corporation also prolonged its five-year telematics partnership with Microsoft Corporation and invested $1 billion into its R&D.
Major automakers in the global autonomous vehicle market are General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), and Volkswagen AG.; and the major technology providers are Google Inc, Intel Corporation, and Apple Inc.
The report will also provide country-wise analysis of the market. Some of the major countries covered in the report are the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Australia, and U.A.E.
