Building the Self-Driving Future? Don’t Forget the Passengers.

It won’t be long before self-driving cars become a concrete reality for consumers. In order to make the driverless future successful, however, auto companies need to take consumers along for the ride. A Capgemini study of more than 5,500 consumers and 280 executives can help auto leaders understand consumer expectations for a self-driving future and prepare their organizations accordingly. Here’s what they need to do: Keep the consumer informed Consumers don’t simply expect self-driving cars to get them from Point A to Point B. They also want them to perform a range of other tasks. According to the study, consumers say they would be willing to use these driverless cars to run errands or transport friends and family members. In consumers’ eyes, the car is moving from a means of transportation to a quasi-personal assistant. This shift places a significant responsibility on auto companies to be candid about the capabilities of driverless cars in order to avoid any risk of misrepresentation. Industry initiatives in this area are already underway. The Euro New Car Assessment Programme, for example, plans to have a ranking system in place by 2020 that will assess the technical systems, manuals and advertising materials of driverless cars.