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Driverless Vehicles are
Coming – and they’re
Coming Fast
Imagine a world where a driverless
vehicle delivers you from your front door
to your office every morning. No driving,
no parking, and no hassle required. You
can work, eat breakfast, read a book,
watch television – or even sleep – during
your commute.
Sound too good to be true? Well,
thanks to modern technology, driverless
vehicles are coming – and they’re
coming fast. Estimates vary as to when
they will dominate the landscape, but
many experts believe they will be a
major presence on U.S. roads by 2025.
In fact, several automakers, including
Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen/
Audi, Tesla, and BMW, are already well
on their way toward making the driver’s
role less important. Elon Musk, co-
founder and CEO of Tesla, is planning a
coast-to-coast demo drive in November
or December 2017, from California to
New York, with no controls touched at
any point during the entire journey. Tesla
has also announced that its customers
would be able to summon a car across
the country by 2018. General Motors
is now testing its self-driving Bolt in
Arizona, and BMW and Nissan have
joined Mercedes-Benz in announcing
plans to offer cars with self-driving
capabilities by 2020.
With so much growth and change on the
horizon, this technology is sure to have
major implications across the board,
including on corporations. Although the
technology is still a work in progress, it’s
never too early to start thinking about
the impacts the new technology will
have on the workplace.
It’s no wonder these
companies are all
jumping on the
driverless technology
band wagon. Last
year, Goldman Sachs
projected the market
for advanced driver
assistance systems
and driverless vehicles
would grow from about
$3 billion in 2015 to
$96 billion in 2025 and
$290 billion in 2035.
JEFFREY GREEN
Managing Director
Global Occupier Services
Lead - Automotive Sector Group
NEIL GORMAN, MRICS
Partner - EMEA
Global Occupier Services
DISRUPTION
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