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Automotive OEMs and suppliers are undertaking research and development in the area of autonomous vehicles even as a number of investments are being made in this segment along with activity in the regulatory space. This has led IHS Automotive to predict that global autonomous vehicle sales will total 21 million by 2035.

Egil Juliussen, Ph.D. and director of research at IHS Automotive, said: “Global sales of autonomous vehicles will reach nearly 600,000 units in 2025. Our new forecast reflects a 43% compound annual growth rate between 2025 and 2035 – a decade of substantial growth, as driverless and self-driving cars alike are more widely adopted in all key global automotive markets. The future fleets of driverless vehicles will provide mobility services for anyone and anything, creating exciting and new opportunities for the automotive industry. Increasing competition from the high-tech and other industries is accelerating the auto industry’s autonomous software and cybersecurity development efforts.”

The US will be first to deploy autonomous vehicle technology while Japan will increase industry coordination and investment in the period to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. Another factor set to positively impact the sector is the growth of new mobility solutions such as ride sharing and car sharing programs.

Jeremy Carlson, principal analyst at IHS Automotive, said: “Future mobility will connect and combine many different modes and technologies, and autonomous vehicles will play a central role. IHS expects entirely new vehicle segments to be created, in addition to traditional vehicles adding autonomous capabilities.”

Carlson added: “Consumers gain new choices in personal mobility to complement mass transit, and these new choices will increasingly use battery electric and other efficient means of propulsion. Those who don’t adjust to a changing world will unfortunately be left behind, or will at least face a very different industry.”