Autonomous Driving: Germans Mistrust Technology Companies
Consumers have mixed feelings about autonomous driving. This is the result of a study of the research institute Inrix.
German drivers are more trustful towards classical car manufacturers regarding the development of autonomous vehicles and the safe handling of their data. Picture: BMW
Inrix Research, a provider of services for connected driving and data-based traffic analysis has interviewed more than 5,000 drivers in five countries asking their opinion on connected and autonomous cars; among them were 1,002 Germans. The results are surprising as the consumers interviewed have significantly more trust in classical car manufacturers than in the technology companies based mainly in Silicon Valley.
Experts are sure that autonomous driving will come. Also, 50percent of the interviewed believe that within the next ten years, autonomous cars will be available. Even if almost 70 percent of the drivers think that autonomous cars are as safe as conventional vehicles, only 20 percent would be interested in buying a self-driving car.
Drivers are mistrustful in regards to data safety
However, car manufacturers shouldn’t be too proud of the higher level of confidence users have compared to companies like Apple or Google; there is still a high degree of mistrust. 45 per cent of the car drivers interviewed say that they wouldn’t have trust in anybody handling their driver’s data. Only two thirds of the rest expressed their confidence in car manufacturers instead of technology companies.
“There is no doubt that traditional car manufacturers will play a major role in the development of connected and autonomous cars. However, they first need to build trust with the consumers, by respecting their concerns about these new technologies and their point of view,” says Dr Graham Cookson, Chief Economist and Head of Research at INRIX. “Without this trust, consumers could orient themselves towards technology companies who have more experience with the development and introduction of new technologies.
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