Who's driving? Pulling back the curtain on AV developments in the USA

By Mufit Yilmaz Gokmen- June 15, 2022

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As well as representing a great challenge, autonomous vehicles (AV) are the inevitable future of the automotive world but they currently surpass?the individual capabilities of almost all automakers. Many have revealed their ambitions in the past but have yet to deliver:?

• Elon Musk claimed in 2016 that Tesla may make an autonomous trip across the US in 2017 and plans to roll out 1 million robotaxis by 2020.
• In the same year, Ford announced its plans to build a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel for 2021.
• After acquiring Cruise in 2016, General Motors (GM) is still working on developing an autonomous Chevrolet Bolt.?

Ambitions falling behind the schedule revealed the true importance of AVs and also the lack of collaboration and, most importantly, required infrastructure for self-driving vehicles. Eventually, three main reasons have pushed the research and developments in the AV area to the next step:?

• Safety:?According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fatalities in road accidents increased 10.5% from 2020 and reached 42,915 in 2021. NHTSA says 94% of the accidents can be attributed to human errors.?
• Competition:?The increasing competition among automakers to bring better services in transportation and logistics has placed AVs among priorities.?
• Collaboration:?The intense R&D required for developing self-driving vehicles has triggered a strong wave of collaboration in the automotive industry.?

As a result, Mordor Intelligence predicts the US self-driving car market to reach $9.36 bn volume by 2027, up from $3.51 bn in 2021, displaying a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of more than 17% between 2022-2027.?

What are the ongoing AV projects??

The US is booming with AV projects, aiming to offer self-driving vehicles with Conditional Automation (Level 3), High Automation (Level 4), and Full Automation (Level 5) level for the end-user, public and commercial markets.?

• Fiat Chrysler and Waymo, an Alphabet-owned autonomous driving technology development company, announced a partnership in 2020 to develop light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The initial step of the project involves integrating Level 4 Waymo Driver technology into the Ram ProMaster van.
• Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company Zoox announced last year that it would start tests on rugged terrains and rain-soaked streets of Seattle in 2021. Zoox will use Toyota Highlander SUVs equipped with sensors. The company plans to open an office in Seattle this year.? View more here...