Heralded as the future of personalized transport, autonomous cars have caused much excitement among car companies, industry journalists and some segments of the public and government. Unquestionably major advances have been made but the future in which drivers are redundant remains some distance away. Despite the expected wait, a lot is changing. China is maneuvering to become the leading global player, catching up to rivals in the US. New infrastructure is being discussed and the regulatory environment is undergoing significant reform. Yet doubts remain as to how soon any promises made by car companies will materialize in a commercially viable form.

Key Highlights

• Helped by the presence of the largest single car market in the world, China is developing rapidly in race to the autonomous future
  
• Autonomous vehicle technology is advancing at speed but claims made on its behalf suggest it is also being over-hyped
  
• To fully realize the potential of driverless vehicles infrastructure must be reformed, but this will take time and money
  
• Regulatory environments are proving vital to the ease with which companies can test and develop the car of the future
  
• Critics are pointing out valid problems with the autonomous future advertised by leading car companies
  

Driverless cars are emerging but much work remains to achieve commercial success
Autonomous cars are frequently advertised as being much safer than any human driver could be over a reasonable time span. Yet for the claims to be met in reality requires the needs of cyclists and pedestrians to be intimately involved with the decision-making computers contained within driverless vehicles.