Sales of Self-Driving Vehicles Could Hit 42 Million by 2035

Worldwide shipment of driverless cars will surge from 1.1 million in 2024 to 14 million in 2030 and more than 42 million by 2035, predicts ABI Research in London.

The firm's new Driverless Vehicles report notes the attractions of robotic cars: dramatically greater safety, smoother traffic flow and enhanced mobility for children, the elderly and impaired.

The study urges the auto industry to begin preparing now for fully automated cars. It cautions that the currently favored evolutionary approach of introducing semi-autonomous systems raises questions about how to safely hand off control from driver to vehicle and back again.

ABI acknowledges that embracing robotic car control would be a leap of faith for carmakers. It also concedes that issues of consumer acceptance, security, liability and regulation are "huge bottlenecks" to driverless vehicles.

Still, the report anticipates high rewards for carmakers who are first to market with autonomous vehicles.