Source: cnBeta
Which companies do drivers trust the most when it comes to developing fully autonomous vehicles? A recently published study by automotive consulting and market research firm Auto Pacific can answer this question. Auto Pacific surveyed more than 600 drivers between the ages of 18 and 80 to find out which of the 56 different companies — from Apple to Volvo — trust the company most to build self-driving cars and trucks.
Tesla leads the way in the top 10 brands, with 32 percent of respondents trusting it to develop self-driving cars. This is both expected and surprising. Tesla is a technology company and a company that always introduces unique or advanced features, but it often misses out. As Tesla's full self-driving doesn't do what the label says, and it costs as much as $12,000.
Looking down, toyota is in second place, with 19 percent of respondents trusting it the most, followed by BMW, Chevrolet, and Ford, which account for 18 percent, 16 percent, and 14 percent, respectively, all of which offer hands-free secondary driver assistance systems, Super Cruise and BlueCruise. In the top ten, Apple and Honda tied for 13%, followed by Audi, Subaru and Cadillac each in single digits.
Apple is intriguing because it doesn't make cars and never makes them. Similarly, according to Auto Pacific, 5% of people choose Sony as their primary choice.
In this study, it's not surprising how eager people are to own a self-driving car. According to statistics, about 22% of shoppers aged 30 to 39 want to have a self-driving car as soon as possible. In contrast, only 14% of people between the ages of 18 and 29. Of course, the elderly are much more cautious. Of those aged 60 and over, only 3 percent want to have a self-driving car as soon as possible. What all age groups have in common, however, is that everyone wants self-driving cars to have a proven safety record.
There are no cars that can achieve full autonomy yet, but they are in the making. Features like Super Cruise and BlueCruise offer an alluring flavor and promise to emerge in the not-too-distant future.