Daimler Leads Autonomous Vehicle Technology Market
This article original posted on environmentalleader.com
Daimler, Audi, BMW and General Motors are the best equipped to develop the autonomous vehicle market, according to a new Leaderboard Report from Navigant Research.
The report, Autonomous Vehicle OEMs, examines the strategy and execution of 18 original equipment manufacturers, including company profiles and rankings, to identify the companies’ relative strengths and weaknesses in the developing autonomous vehicle market.
The top four companies all had strategy and execution scores of greater than 75. Daimler made the top slot followed closely by Audi, BMW and GM. Just outside the leader category are four contenders — Volvo, Ford, Toyota and Honda — that are capable of taking the lead in the near future. Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai/Kia, Tessla and Nissan could challenge for leadership in the near future. The last five companies — Fiat Chrysler, Mazda, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroën and Mitsubishi are a mix of contenders and challengers that are trailing behind the other OEMs and will need to make significant changes to attain a leadership role in the autonomous vehicle market.
Fully automated vehicles that do not require a human driver are expected to be about a decade away from production, but the incremental systems necessary as foundations for the technology are emerging today.
The desire to reduce injuries and deaths resulting from traffic accidents and the potential to reduce overall energy use are the biggest factors driving vehicle automation, according to the report. Although reliability, security and liability issues pose major barriers to adoption, the market is moving forward, and by 2020, manufacturers are expected to offer enhanced self-driving capability that includes the ability to change lanes and follow simple directions from a navigation system.
Truly driverless cars are expected by 2025, but this date will depend on legislative changes as well as steady improvements in technology.