Consumer Trust In Automakers To Develop Autonomous Cars Low CarGurus Study Shows

The auto industry and technology companies may be charged up about the development of autonomous vehicles, but a new survey indicates not only has excitement among consumers stagnated, there’s little trust in automakers’ ability to develop AVs.

In the survey conducted by online auto marketplace CarGurus.com in April, 34% of the 1,247 consumers responding to the April survey named Tesla as the brand they “most trust” to develop autonomous vehicles, but the number two response (19%) was “None” and number three at 8% was a company that doesn’t yet build vehicles, Apple.

Of the top seven responses, the only full-line automakers named were Toyota (7%), BMW, Ford and Honda, each at 5%.

When asked what brand AV they would most likely consider once available, the top response was Tesla at 54% followed by Toyota (35%), BMW (32%), Honda (27%), Audi and Ford, both at 25%.

Just over half (51%) cited the technology being still too early in development for them to trust any brand. But whatever brand autonomous vehicle they end up riding in, the majority (56%) said responsibility for any accident should fall with the manufacturer, compared with 44% choosing the “pilot” or whomever is in the driver’s seat and/or their insurance company.

Overall, however, consumers seem to be nonplussed about development of self-driving vehicles and are more excited, and interested, in driver assistance technologies.

About a third (33%) said they’re “excited” about AV s. That’s only 1% higher than the 2019 survey. While 45% said they’re excited that self-driving vehicles represent a “huge leap in technology,” more than half (51%) said they are “not comfortable relying on them for safety.”

Indeed safety was top of mind for survey respondents with a majority (68%) agreeing with the statement “Driving assistance features make travel by car safer.” Just 31% agreed that self-driving cars would make travel by car safer.

Advance driver assistance system (ADAS) technologies consumers said they were most interested in are features many vehicles already have such as back-up cameras (39%) and blind-spot monitoring (56%).

When asked how they would “use” a self-driving vehicle most (56%) said they’d do so to get them home safely if they’re impaired while 42% said they’d have the vehicle find a spot and park itself and 36% responded they’d send the vehicle to pickup groceries or an online order.

“This year’s Self-Driving Vehicle Sentiment Survey from CarGurus makes clear that autonomous vehicles’ tech offerings need to align with how people want to use them,” said Madison Gross, Director of Customer Insights at CarGurus in a statement. “While there is hesitancy around self-driving technology, how consumers envision themselves using the technology would require full autonomy – which is still a goal that the industry is striving toward. Until then, shoppers are looking for driving technology that helps them stay in control, rather than technology that takes total control.”

When it comes to the question of AV ownership, the skepticism over the readiness of the technology is reflected the responses to the question “how likely are you to own an autonomous vehicle?”

Only 18% said they expected to own one in the next five years, while 34% believed AV ownership was still a decade away.