Government sets out plans to establish UK as a driverless car leader

The government has launched the first competition to access funding from its £100 million investment programme supporting the creation of test facilities for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV).

Business secretary Greg Clark outlined plans to create a 'cluster of excellence' in CAV testing along the M40 corridor between Birmingham and London.

The programme will use some of the UK’s existing CAV testing centres to create a concentrated cluster of testing facilities in the UK's automotive heartland in the West Midlands, including; Coventry, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, as well as Oxford and London.

The technology cluster, government and industry will be able to accelerate the development of CAV technology in the UK, grow intellectual capital in the field, attract overseas investment and create a national ecosystem that covers all testing requirements – from computer program design to on road testing.

The programme, which is being match funded by industry to take the total spend up to £200 million over four years, is being launched as a grant through a series of funding competitions. The first competition will allow bids for an initial share of £55 million of the test bed funding.

The first phase of the competition will support a number of projects divided into four different streams covering a range of environments for testing connected autonomous vehicles including: public test facilities in a complex, real-world urban or city environment; controlled test environment representative of driving in a city; and a realistic and controlled high-speed, test environment.

The investment and collaboration will "ensure we are at the forefront of its development and perfectly positioned to lead and capitalise on this market", said Clark.

By 2035 the global market for connected and autonomous vehicle technologies is predicted to be worth £63 billion.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said that the goal is for the UK "to be the destination of choice" for the development and testing of this new generation of vehicles. "Government support and investment, such as we are seeing today, will help this technology flourish allowing the UK to reap the economic and societal benefits,” Hawes added.

RDM Group, which was displaying 'Pod Zero' at the venue where Clark outlined his plans, welcomed the announcement.

"The UK has a unique opportunity to lead the world in autonomous vehicles, but we have to be bold and ensure the innovation and technology we are developing gets the support it needs to be tested and brought to market quicker than any of our international rivals,” said the company’s sales and marketing director Miles Garner.

The company said it any financial assistance the government can provide to create 'connected vehicle' environments will help its expansion both domestically and overseas. The company has recently secured a $1 million grant from the South Australian government to further establish its base in Adelaide and commence trials for a new driverless cargo pod will shortly be announcing the opening of an office in the US.