At present, just 26 per cent of Germans say they would ride in an autonomous car, while even fewer – 18 percent – would own one, a recent survey from consultancy firm Ernst & Young found. “Unless everyone is using one, but then you have to be able to afford a self-driving car,” he added. Elsewhere, the Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler has joined forces with the parts supplier Bosch, while Volkswagen is drawing on its luxury subsidiary Audi. And Audi, BMW and Daimler pooled their cash to buy Here, a company specialising in the hyper-detailed maps that are vital for autonomous driving. But ordinary drivers must be convinced that autonomous driving is safe before their reticence can be overcome, according to the Centre of Automotive Management (CAM), a research institute near Cologne in western Germany.

Source: New Strait Times September 19, 2017 05:03 UTC