Four Autonomous Cars Facts That Are Hard to Believe

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Nearly every automaker and technology company are working on autonomous technology. While companies are looking to bring autonomous tech to commercial vehicles first, the end goal is to put the technology into the hands of consumers. With so many companies set to introduce autonomous vehicles in the near future, there are a bunch of ways driverless cars will change the way we get around and how transportation works.

USA Today put together a list of four autonomous car facts that are hard to believe.

33 Million Autonomous Cars Sold Annually By 2040

Research from IHS Markit back in 2018 claimed that more than 33 million self-driving vehicles would be sold every year by 2040. By that year, 26 percent of new vehicle sales will have autonomous capabilities. The United States is expected to lead the world in the adoption of self-driving vehicles, as IHS Markit believes that driverless cars will enter production by 2019. Europe and China will follow shortly after, adding autonomous vehicles to roads by 2021.

33 million autonomous vehicles by 2040 is just a number. But when you add in IHS Markit's research that claims only 51,000 driverless vehicles are expected to be sold in 2021, it's clear that autonomous vehicles will take off slowly before eventually becoming much more popular.

Autonomous Ride-Sharing Services Already Exist

The majority of drivers in America still think that autonomous vehicles are off in the distance, but that isn't the case. Major companies like Waymo have a driverless ride-sharing service that's offered in Phoenix with plans to expand to California, France, and Japan .

Waymo isn't the only company with a self-driving ride-sharing service in the U.S., Lyft and Aptiv partnered to complete over 50,000 autonomous rides in Las Vegas earlier this year. Data from Lyft reveals that individuals enjoyed the rides and would choose an autonomous vehicle to ride in in the future.

Self-Driving Cars Will Create A $7 Trillion Market

Why is everyone interested in autonomous vehicles? Because of the money. USA Today claims that Intel believes that self-driving vehicles will create a $7 trillion market . The main factor helping the push with the large market is autonomous delivery services. Major companies like Amazon and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are interested in having self-driving cars that deliver packages autonomously. The outlet claims that package deliveries will grow from 50 million a day in 2019 to 100 million per day in 2026. Technology companies are expected to provide traditional brands with platforms and the necessary software to bring more autonomous fleets to the market, which could bring more delivery machines to the market.

30,000 Lives Will Be Saved Every Year

The first, and most important thing behind autonomous vehicles is that they'll help save lives. Between distracted driving, more features in vehicles that are difficult to use, and more drivers on the road than ever before, operating a vehicle is dangerous. Autonomous vehicles are expected to be much safer than human drivers , and could reduce automobile fatalities from 90 percent to 94 percent. Four percent might not sound like a lot, but it equates to 30,000 lives being saved every year.

Self-driving cars are already on public roads, gathering data to improve in every way. While there are a lot of known facts about autonomous vehicles, these four unbelievable facts reveal just how far autonomous cars have come and how far they still have to go.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods