Consumers Pick Their Most-Trusted Brands for Developing Fully-Autonomous Vehicles

With the advent of fully-autonomous vehicles on the way, who will win the race first to develop the most trusted system? As part of AutoPacific’s recent study gauging consumer perception on fully-autonomous vehicle technology, we asked respondents about their trust in 56 brands, both automakers and popular technology companies alike. From Apple to Volvo, consumers across all age brackets picked who they would trust the most, and the least, when it comes to developing safe and reliable fully-autonomous vehicles.

Before diving into the top 10 most-trusted brands, let’s take a look at just how ready consumers are to embrace the technology. While automakers, legacy and startups, and even a few technology companies promise appealing, cutting-edge fully-autonomous vehicles… if the consumer isn’t entirely on board then the pace of adoption may stall the arrival of this technology.

Younger Generations Are More Welcoming to AVs

What age group is the most eager to embrace fully-autonomous vehicle technology? Expectedly, 22% of younger shoppers ages 30 to 39 want AVs as soon as possible followed by 14% of shoppers ages 18 to 29. The eagerness begins to drop as the age brackets climb, with just 3% of polled consumers ages 60 and up wanting it ASAP. However, the common theme displayed across all polled age brackets is that the majority of consumers would prefer to wait until there is a proven track record of safe and/or reliable fully-autonomous vehicle technology. The most reluctant to ever have a taste for fully-autonomous vehicle technology? Drivers aged 60 and up.

While it appears most consumers, regardless of age bracket, are more comfortable waiting a bit longer for fully-autonomous vehicles, that doesn’t mean that automakers and technology companies should delay getting the ball rolling.

At this time, there are no fully-autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles on sale today. However, some automakers including GM, Ford, Tesla, and Toyota do currently offer more comprehensive ADAS suites that do legally allow for Level 2 semi-autonomous hands-free driving on marked highways in ideal, safe conditions (as required by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration or NHTSA, a driver’s eyes and attention must be kept on the road when these hands-free systems are activated and in use).

Consumers trust the following brands the most to develop safe, reliable fully-autonomous vehicles: Tesla, Toyota, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Apple, Honda, Audi, Subaru, and Cadillac.

Consumer Trust Sits Highest With Tesla, Toyota, and BMW

With 32% of consumers, Tesla claims the crown for being the most trusted brand for developing safe and reliable fully-autonomous vehicles. This likely can be credited to much more “buzz” surrounding the automaker’s pricey and controversial Full-Self Driving driver assistance tech in which current Tesla owners are able to sign up as volunteers and help demo the Level 2 semi-autonomous hands-free capability for Tesla’s own R&D efforts. Second place is Toyota, with 19% of consumers picking the brand as their most trusted; the brand in early March started rolling out its first Level 2 semi-autonomous hands-free driving aid for the hydrogen-powered Mirai’s 2022 model year. Perhaps not surprisingly, the younger the consumer, the more who trust Tesla while the older the consumer, the higher the trust swings for Toyota.

18% of consumers picked BMW, 16% Chevrolet, and 14% picked Ford - with the latter two automakers currently offering Level 2 semi-autonomous hands-free highway assists on various models in their respective lineups. However, in a similar case with Tesla, younger consumers are substantially more likely to trust BMW (42% of consumers ages 18 to 39) compared to those who trust in Chevrolet and Ford (just 25% and 16%) respectively.

Interestingly, despite not having a vehicle of its own on sale (yet), 13% of consumers trust Apple to develop safe and reliable fully-autonomous vehicles. While it didn’t earn a spot in the top ten list above, 5% of consumers did pick Sony as a most-trusted brand.

Honda, Audi, Subaru, and Cadillac make up the remaining four of the top ten most trusted automakers to develop safe and reliable fully-autonomous vehicles. Cadillac is the only automaker in this group four to currently offer a Level 2 semi-autonomous hands-free highway driving aid, Super Cruise, which is available on select CT6, CT4, CT5, Escalade, and XT6 models, as well as soon the all-electric LYRIQ crossover due for our 2023 model year.

Consumers Aren't Comfortable with Fully Autonomous Vehicle Technology; Want Proven Track Record

Fully autonomous vehicles are coming, but are drivers ready and willing to hand over the controls? In a recent study of over 600 licensed drivers aged 18-80 in the United States, AutoPacific gauged comfort with autonomous vehicles and investigated such topics as insurance responsibility, accident liability, price willing to pay and trusted automotive brands.

Rating their current comfort level, only 29% of respondents said they would be comfortable being automatically driven in their own fully autonomous vehicle in the future. A slightly lower 26% of respondents would be comfortable as passengers riding in someone else’s fully autonomous vehicle. “This is technology that most consumers are going to need to see and experience for several years before becoming comfortable,” says Ed Kim, President and Chief Analyst of AutoPacific. “It’s different than any other automotive technology that’s currently out there in that you’d be truly putting your vehicle in control of the drive one hundred percent.” Study results show that the large majority of respondents will wait until there’s a proven track record of reliability before embracing the technology.

Rating their current comfort level, only 29% of respondents said they would be comfortable being automatically driven in their own fully autonomous vehicle in the future. A slightly lower 26% of respondents would be comfortable as passengers riding in someone else’s fully-autonomous vehicle in the future.

Younger Drivers Are Most Comfortable with Autonomy

Age will play a major role in the future acceptance and adoption of autonomous vehicles as younger consumers are currently more comfortable with the technology. When asked about their comfort level being driven in their own fully autonomous vehicle, 40% of respondents aged 18-29 say they would be comfortable, while only 18% of drivers 60 and older say the same. Furthermore, 47% of respondents aged 18-29 say they would be comfortable with a fully autonomous vehicle taking its own evasive actions in emergency situations, compared to only 29% of slightly older respondents (age 30-39) and 20% of the oldest age group (age 60+). When asked if they believe there will be more or fewer accidents when fully autonomous vehicles are on the road, only 24% of respondents overall believe there will be fewer, compared to 41% of respondents aged 18-29.

When asked about their comfort level being driven in their own fully autonomous vehicle, 40% of respondents aged 18-29 say they would be comfortable, while only 18% of drivers 60 and older say the same.

Tesla, BMW and Toyota Most Trusted Brands for Autonomous Vehicle Development

Nearly a third of all respondents (32%) say they trust Tesla to develop a safe and reliable fully autonomous vehicle, followed by Toyota (19%) and BMW (18%). “Tesla’s reputation as a technology leader and the fact that its vehicles currently offer some degree of autonomous technologies, whether they reliably work or not, gives them the competitive edge with consumers when it comes to future full autonomy,” says Kim. Toyota’s strong brand reputation with older consumers and its reputation for robustness and reliability likely help it place in the top 3 overall, though respondents aged 18-29 are less likely to name the brand as a contender in autonomous development and more likely to choose Apple (20%), even though the technology giant doesn’t currently sell vehicles.