Autonomous Vehicles May Cut Auto Market in Half
U.S. auto sales may drop about 40 percent in the next 25 years because of autonomous vehicles hitting the road, reports Bloomberg. In particular, shared driverless cars would force mass-market automakers such as General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. to slash output, a Barclays analyst told Bloomberg.
Vehicle ownership rates could be cut almost in half because many families would only need one car. However, driverless cars would travel twice as many miles as they return home between trips to ferry a different family member. As a result, automakers would have to shrink their production in order to survive.
The numbers are outlined in a new report by analyst Brian Johnson.
Driverless vehicles will certainly cut car sales. I certainly would choose to avoid buying one. They simply will never be able to handle exceptions.