How Autonomous Vehicles Will Ride the Electric Wave

Written by Lauren Isaac

Director of Business Initiatives, USA

EasyMile

I’m excited to see that electric vehicles are getting more and more attention lately. President-Elect Biden is making them a political priority, they continue to be an area of strategic focus for automakers, and state policy makers are turning their attention to them as well. Seemingly, we are going to see a meaningful uptick in electric vehicle production, sales and usage, for both individual and commercial markets.

Sense of urgency

I’d like to believe that a significant increase in electric vehicle interest and adoption is due to a growing acknowledgement of climate change and the damage we’re inflicting on our environment every day. Massive weather events, poor air quality, and unpredictable temperature swings have created a sense of urgency for policy makers, businesses, and the general public to shift away from fossil fuels.

Environment and safety

So what does this mean for autonomous vehicles?  We know that shared driverless vehicles have the potential to benefit the environment as well – through decreased congestion and more efficient driving routes.  I’m wondering if this impetus or another comparable trigger – like traffic safety – will cause a similar shift in focus on driverless vehicles. What will it take to get the public and policymakers on board?

• Maybe our post-Coronavirus world will be so car-focused and have so much congestion that shared driverless vehicles will become a big priority?
   
• Maybe road safety will receive heightened attention due to the greater usage of bikes and scooters causing more safety incidents? 
   
• Maybe our post-Coronavirus world will reduce or even eliminate traditional in-person shopping, which will significantly increase the world’s package delivery requirements? I think we may have found our trigger!

Goods movement is the future

As grocery stores, retail stores, and pharmacies see less and less foot traffic, our delivery vehicles are becoming busier and busier. Reducing the labor costs and congestion associated with these delivery vehicles will likely be a huge “driver” (pun intended!) for change. I’m hopeful that goods movement requirements will allow us to see the technological advances and supportive policy changes that will advance the driverless technology in the same way that the electric vehicle technology is being accelerated today.