Tesla. Uber. Google. Mercedes. Even Apple. These billion dollar companies, along with at least 19 other companies and counting as of October 2017 have all announced that they are coming up with products to introduce into the autonomous car market. Automobile Autonomy is a new technology in the works that when released, as stated by Autonomousvehicles2016’s WordPress blog, “will allow [autonomous cars] to accelerate, brake and control the steering wheel while maintaining very limited or no driver interaction.”

While this new technology has lots of potential, what I found the most surprising was the large amount of potential producers fighting to gain a spot in this newly emerging market.

https://autonomousvehicles2016.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/porters-4-competitive-strategies/ and myself

 

According to Porter’s 5 market forces, as illustrated in figure 1, the Autonomous Vehicle market should be quite undesirable, which left me wondering- with Statistics Canada showing almost 34 million licensed gasoline vehicles, why are potential autonomous vehicle producers so infatuated with spending billions of dollars replacing something that gets Canadians from point A to B with something else that does the same job?

https://selfdrivingcarproject.wordpress.com/swot/ as well as myself

Upon making a SWOT diagram my question was answered, as the strengths and opportunities of introducing autonomous cars into the market colossally eclipsed the potentially threats and weaknesses. Arguably the biggest benefit to automated vehicles is the huge potential for safer transportation. Currently in the United States, there are 13 deaths per 100, 000 drivers on the road. By eliminating drunk-driving (as well as getting rid of the need for designated drivers!) and aggressive driving (this is you, my friends), this fatality rate is expected to decrease by a factor of 100 – turning that number 13 into .13.

In addition, the sheer convenience of having an automated driver is unparalleled. The idea of being able to sit and enjoy a coffee while taking in the morning’s fill of social media, heavily outweighs having to  drive to school on limited sleep at 7 am in the morning, which is a unfortunately common UBC commuter experience.

The growth potential that autonomous cars have is the reason why so many companies are rushing to grab a share of the market. Forbes, a reputable business news website, predicts that by 2030, 1 in 4 cars will be autonomous.  Companies worldwide are recognizing that there it is a completely realistic possibility for self-driving cars, through creative destruction, the process where new innovative products replace existing ones, to completely eradicate traditional cars from the market, hence the rush to join the market. 

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References:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/trade14a-eng.htm

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliviergarret/2017/03/03/10-million-self-driving-cars-will-hit-the-road-by-2020-heres-how-to-profit/#5459d4007e50

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter%27s_five_forces_analysis

http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-making-driverless-cars-by-2020-2016-10/#ford-is-aiming-to-have-its-fully-autonomous-car-ready-in-four-to-five-years-8

SWOT

Porter’s Four Competitive Strategies