A recent survey carried out by the Capgemini Institute has revealed that more persons in China are enthusiastic about the emerging self-driving/autonomous car technology than in the United States (US). 
The survey had over 5000 respondents and while more than half of the respondents from China showed more positivity about self-driving cars, those from the U.S. and the U.K. are the least excited about the prospect of leaving the driver seat for robotic technology to take up the chauffeur’s duties.
China has set lofty objectives for the take off of autonomous vehicles in the country. Late last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued its “Internet of Vehicles Development Commission”. The document sets 2020 as a milestone for changing from pilot tests to substantial scale adoption of autonomous vehicles. A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance also showed that the number of Chinese companies with testing permits for self-driving cars had rocketed from zero to 35 in the last 18 months.
In an interview, Markus Winkler, global head of automotive at consultancy Capgemini SE stated thus; “In China, but also in other Asian countries, we are seeing more excitement about ‘the new’ generally. The acceleration in the last few years comes from the government as well.”
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On the whole, manufacturers are ramping up their research and development efforts in autonomous vehicles. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk recently referred to self-driving technology as “transformative” to the electric car manufacturer, in an investor call last week. Other established automotive companies like Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG are ramping up investment in driverless technologies. General Motors Co.’s self-driving unit this week drew $1.15 billion in fresh investment, valuing it autonomous vehicle arm – GM Cruise LLC at $19 billion.
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