Self-driving Cars: What The Future of The Auto Industry Will Look Like

Singapore just recently debuted the first taxi services which make use of driveless cars in the whole world. This is in line with the statement issued by taxi firm Uber previously, regarding the introduction and the start of the testing phase for driverless taxis by the end of this month.

Apart from Uber, companies including Apple and Google will be conducting their own set of test runs as well later on. Given these developments, these are the changes we would be observing once these services would go full swing:

Improved Road Safety

Driverless vehicles are expected to significantly cut down the number of road accidents, therefore improving health and safety while on wheels. Despite the recent accident involving Tesla's driverless cars, it is still believed that cars of this type could help lessen the number of road deaths by as much as half of its current rate.

This roughly equates to more than half a million lives spared on an annual basis.

 A More Booming Car Industry.

The introduction of self-driving cars is believed to alter people's perceptions about owning a vehicle. The common notion among people is that cars are bought out of convenience, and due to the inefficiency of different types of public transportation.

Having a lot of driverless cars, according to Uber, would make public transportation better than it is now, and would also help lower the cost of availing of public transport which are driver dependent.

Real Estate Changes

Having automated cars would no longer call for the need of dedicating space solely for parking purposes. Laws created for city zoning would be altered, as parking areas are not required anymore, and that private residence could make use of the garage space for other uses.

 Financial Matters

The auto loan market is as huge as $850 billion in the United States, and the introduction of self-driving cars on the road will alter the purchasing and financing aspects of owning a vehicle. This change would pave the way for new business models and shifts in focus to recurring earnings and utilization, as auto companies could allow consumers to rent or set rates like they would on cable TV services on a monthly basis.