Driverless cars to boost UK economy by £51bn

 
A report says the driverless car industry will generate 320,000 new jobs in the capital

Self-driving cars will give the UK economy a £51 billion boost while cutting road congestion and accidents in London, according to a major study.

The KPMG report says the autonomous car industry will generate 320,000 new jobs in the capital and the UK by 2030, while delivering major benefits to society.

Commissioned by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the study says self-drive cars will reduce serious road traffic accidents by more than 25,000 a year by 2030, because they remove human error.

The study also predicts the UK will be a global leader in the production of the “next generation” vehicles.

The findings were announced at SMMTConnected at London’s QEII Centre, where cars with the latest self-driving technology went on show.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, said: “Connected and autonomous cars will transform the way mega-cities like London function for generations to come. Intelligent connected technology will help improve traffic flow in the capital’s busiest areas and dramatically reduce accidents, while also helping to deliver more than £50 billion to our economy.”

He added: “The report clearly shows the UK automotive industry is leading the way in developing the cars of the future and that it will act as a catalyst for wider economic benefits. The UK must grasp the opportunities ahead and ensure it is continually at the forefront of pushing through these next breakthrough technologies.”

Leading figures from BMW, Bosch, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Volvo addressed the conference, attended by transport minister Robert Goodwill and Ed Vaizey, minister for the digital economy. The SMMT said vehicles on the market already featured technologies which link with the driver’s phone to enable remote door-locking and control of heating and air conditioning functions.

Cars displayed at the conference included a Mercedes-Benz S-class, which demonstrated how Traffic Sign Assist automatically recognises speed limit signs, no-overtaking zones and no-entry restrictions.

The KPMG study forecasts that by 2030, every new car will have some form of connectivity. More than a quarter will be fully autonomous. Driverless car trials have already started in four UK locations, including Greenwich.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in