Americans may be warming up to self-driving cars, but many still aren’t ready to give up the wheel completely.
A new study from Cox Automotive found that familiarity with autonomous vehicles has grown from 40% in 2016 to 58% today.
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The auto industry has always had longer adoption curves for new technologies, said Vanessa Ton, senior manager of Market and Customer Research at Cox Automotive. “For autonomous vehicles, safety concerns and high-profile incidents have slowed progress, but the growing acceptance of robotaxis seen in this years study indicates that attitudes are clearly evolving.
That shift may already be underway. The study found that 55% of Americans say they are open to using robotaxis.
However, concerns remain. Among people who have never ridden in a robotaxi, 61% said the lack of a human driver makes them uncomfortable.
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Researchers say firsthand experience appears to be helping improve perceptions of the technology. Awareness of robotaxis has reached 70% nationally, according to the study.
Even so, actual usage remains significantly lower, with just 18% of Americans reporting they have used a robotaxi.