COMMENT: What will it take to bridge the chasm between L2 and L3/4 autonomy?
The viability of mass-market autonomous vehicles (AVs) hangs in the balance. The global market is expected to decline by more than 3% during 2020 as a result of COVID-19 and may take years to recover. High technology costs, reliability concerns, a lack of industry-wide standards and the lack of an appropriate regulatory framework mean the automotive industry has struggled to introduce autonomous features beyond luxury vehicles and into the mass market, while those same mass market brands are focusing their investment on electric vehicles. Despite these headwinds, the industry remains committed to crossing the chasm from Level 2 autonomy to either Level 3 or 4.