Well, fellow humans, we're going to obsolete soon. A new study by IHS Automotive claims that by 2025, a mere 11 years from now, there will be 230,000 self-driving cars on world's roads. 10 years beyond that, the number will swell to 11.8 million, although only select models will do without any traditional means of human control by 2030. By the middle of the 21st century, nearly every vehicle on the road will be of the autonomous variety.
Now, this may only be a study, but it's one that we think may hold some water. Multiple traditional manufacturers are embarking on autonomous-vehicle projects, and they're being joined by the likes of tech giant Google along with any number of major industry suppliers.
As for what these numbers will mean for the industry, IHS is only predicting self-driving cars to make up two-tenths of a percent of sales in 2025, with price premiums of $7,000 to $10,000. By 2035, 9.2-percent of new vehicles sold will be autonomous, as prices are driven down to a mere $3,000 more than a traditionally controlled vehicle.
The effects of self-driving cars on society, meanwhile, will be more mixed. According to the study, 90-percent of traffic deaths are due to driver error, which means we should see a reduction in fatalities once humans are taken out of the equation. The bad news is, humans who drive for a living – whether it be over-the-road truckers or your friendly UPS driver – are likely to be among the first redundancies as autonomous commercial vehicles become more common.
Provided the prices equalize and the technology becomes reliable, would you consider a self-driving or fully autonomous car? Let us know in Comments.
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