Autonomous vehicles will sell 20 mil. in 2035
By Kang Seung-woo
Global sales of self-driving cars are forecast to top 20 million by 2035 on the rapid development of related technologies, according to a state-run think tank, Monday.
“The smart car market will expand to a large extent as autonomous vehicles are expected to hit the road en masse around 2020,”the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) said. “Their annual sales are expected to surpass 20 million in 2035.”
The volume of the local smart car market increased by 4.3 percent from 333 trillion won in 2010 to 411 trillion won in 2015, KIET said.
Smart cars encompass connected cars, which are designed to optimize their own maintenance via internet connectivity, and autonomous cars, which are capable of sensing the environment and navigating without human input.
Although the smart car sector is in its blooming stage, the industry has seen its technology development making great strides thanks to aggressive participation by information technology firms as well as carmakers.
Google launched its self-driving car project in 2009 and unveiled its first driverless car the following year.
Since then, global carmakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and General Motors have joined the competition for the potential-loaded business.
Amid intensifying global efforts, the Korean government has come up with measures to encourage local companies to jump on the bandwagon.
The transport ministry plans to exhibit a smart highway using a high tech-based traffic management system, on which vehicles could travel at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour and exchange traffic information to avoid congestion.
Other relevant ministries are also providing various measures to bolster the industry.
KIET said the government should come up with measures aimed at streamlining many policies from different ministries, which sometimes conflict with one another. It also asked the government to support both major firms and smaller players so they will be able to grow in balance.