Self-driving cars could
generate billions in revenue: U.S. study
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[March 05, 2015]
By Paul Lienert
DETROIT (Reuters) - Self-driving cars could
generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from mobile internet
services and products, even if occupants spend only a fraction of their
free time on the web, according to a new study by McKinsey & Company.
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The study, released Thursday, also projects that widespread adoption
of self-driving cars could lead to a 90 percent reduction in U.S.
vehicle crashes, with a potential savings of nearly $200 billion a
year from significantly fewer injuries and deaths.
In addition, the McKinsey study warns of several risks to
established companies, including vehicle manufacturers, dealers and
even insurance companies.
McKinsey projects that future owners of self-driving cars could save
up to 50 minutes a day, some of which is likely to be spent surfing
the web.
The consulting firm estimates the additional free time in the car
could generate about $5.6 billion a year in digital revenue for each
additional minute that vehicle occupants spend on the internet - as
much as $140 billion if half their free time in the car, or roughly
25 minutes, is devoted to daily web surfing and shopping.
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The revenue may be divided among the vehicle manufacturers, their
major hardware and software suppliers and web-based providers of
goods, information and services.
In the future, "people will be able to shop for services or products
from their mobile devices or from embedded systems in the vehicle,"
said Hans-Werner Kaas, senior partner and head of McKinsey's
automotive practice.
McKinsey said that while traditional automakers, especially premium
brands such as Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG's <VOWG_p.DE>
Audi, already are beginning to implement advanced driver assistance
systems on their cars, they face new challenges in fielding fully
autonomous cars from "attackers," non-traditional companies that do
not have legacy vehicle platforms or sales and service networks.
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Those outside challengers include such newcomers as Tesla Motors
Inc, as well as tech giants such as Apple Inc and Google Inc, both
of which are poised to build self-driving cars.
The gradual shift to self-driving cars, which may automakers don't
expect to accelerate until after 2025, could trigger other profound
changes in the auto industry.
Those include a shift among insurers from covering risk of human
error to risk of technical failure; a shift from franchised dealer
service to independent shops where autonomous vehicles can drive
themselves for repairs and maintenance, and fewer trips to the shop
as more cars are diagnosed and updated wirelessly.
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit)
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