UK ranked ninth on ‘autonomous vehicle readiness’ index

The UK has been ranked ninth out of 30 countries in a study which assesses ‘autonomous vehicle readiness’.

The 2020 Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index from KPMG ranks countries according to policy and legislation, technology and innovation, infrastructure and consumer acceptance.

It reports that the Government and industry have invested close to £200m establishing six test facilities for autonomous vehicles (AVs) in south-east and central England.

It also found that the UK’s technology companies, universities, and research institutions are making a significant contribution to its AV capabilities.

‘The UK has a really healthy ecosystem for early stage work, with a lot of tests and trials,’ said Sarah Owen-Vandersluis, Partner, Head of Future Mobility, KPMG in the UK.

However, the UK has dropped two places since last year, according to the index.

Ms Owen-Vandersluis said that there were problems when it came to scaling up work and that there were also challenges with the quality of telecoms infrastructure and encouraging collaboration between organizations.