It is becoming a car industry parlour game to predict when fully driverless cars will arrive on the roads.
Audi chairman Rupert Stadler, whose company just topped a record 149mph with a fully self-driving RS7 sportback, says drivers will be able to take their hands off the wheel by 2016. A year later, Volvo will put 100 self-driving cars on the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden, with the aim of getting a fully autonomous vehicle on the market by 2020.
Research group Gartner says that, by 2030, autonomous-enabled vehicles will make up about 25 per cent of passenger cars in mature markets. Consultancy Roland Berger says “wide adoption” could follow soon after, creating a market worth $60bn for carmakers, parts suppliers and tech companies.