Which companies do drivers trust most when it comes to developing fully autonomous vehicles? A recently published study from auto consulting and market research firm Auto Pacific can answer that question. Auto Pacific surveyed more than 600 drivers between the ages of 18 and 80 to find out which of 56 different companies – from Apple to Volvo – they trust most to make self-driving cars and trucks.
Among the top 10 brands, Tesla leads the pack, with 32 percent of respondents most trusting it to develop self-driving cars. This is both expected and surprising. Tesla is a technology company and company that always comes out with unique or advanced features, but it often misses appointments. As Tesla Full Self-Driving doesn’t do what the label says, and it costs a whopping $12,000.
Looking down, Toyota comes in second with 19% of respondents trusting it most, followed by BMW, Chevrolet and Ford with 18%, 16% and 14% respectively, both of which offer The two-level driver assistance systems that can free your hands are Super Cruise and BlueCruise. In the top 10, Apple and Honda tied for 13 percent, followed by Audi, Subaru and Cadillac each in single digits.
Apple is intriguing because it doesn’t make cars and never did. Likewise, 5 percent chose Sony as their top choice, according to Auto Pacific. What’s not surprising in this study is how eager people are to own a self-driving car. According to statistics, about 22% of shoppers aged 30 to 39 want to own a self-driving car as soon as possible.
That compares with just 14% of those between the ages of 18 and 29. Of course, older people are much more cautious. Only 3% of people 60 and older want to own a self-driving car as soon as possible. What all age groups have in common, however, is that everyone expects self-driving cars to have proven safety records.
There are no fully autonomous vehicles yet, but they are in the pipeline. Features like Super Cruise and BlueCruise offer an enticing flavor and are expected to appear in the not-too-distant future.