Nearly every automaker is working on some form of autonomous vehicle technology, but according to a new study, consumers are more interested in a self-driving car from Google than General Motors.
The study, conducted by U.S. audit and advisory firm KPMG, polled a diverse group of drivers from both coasts and in between, pulling samples from Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Iselin, New Jersey.
The focus groups were asked about their willingness to use an autonomous vehicle every day, and rank their trust in the company producing the car on a scale of one to 10. While high-end automakers like Mercedes-Benz received a median score of 7.75, tech companies like Google and Apple scored an eight, and mass-market brands (Chevrolet and Nissan) came in at five.
"We believe that self-driving cars will be profoundly disruptive to the traditional automotive ecosystem," said Gary Silberg, KPMG auto expert and author of the report. The company's polling bears that out, although KPMG is quick to add the caveat that while "focus group discussions are valuable for the qualitative, directional insights they provide; they are not statistically valid."
Still, the study bore some interesting — if not entirely surprising — results.
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