U.K. Launches Autonomous Car Development Blitz

This week the British government is distributing £25 million ($33 million) in funds to as many as six projects that will test self-driving vehicles on public highways.

The funds are part of a three-year, £250 million ($333 million) initiative to support British efforts to test autonomous vehicles under a wide variety of real-world conditions and develop prototype systems for production. The aim is to quickly propel the U.K. into a position of leadership in the fast-developing world of autonomous vehicles, connectivity and artificial intelligence.

Richard Harrington, the U.K.’s automotive minister, tells Bloomberg News that the government hopes to attract investment and job opportunities in advanced mobility technology. He notes that the worldwide market for robotic vehicles has been forecast to surge to £907 billion ($1.2 trillion) by 2035, and Britain is eager to capture a piece of that market.

Bloomberg says several government policymakers believe the U.K.’s impending departure from the European Union will free the country to set its own rules for developing autonomous-driving technology. They say that freedom, coupled with Britain’s university-based technical base, could enable the government to drive exceptionally fast development work in mobility systems.