× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

The self-driving revolution has spurred the biggest two years of car-supplier takeovers in a decade, with more coming as parts makers struggle to keep up with technological transformation.

The total value of automotive-supplier deals in 2015 and 2016 was $74.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with each of those years far exceeding the $17.7 billion annual average in the previous 10 years. The number of transactions valued at $500 million or more also skyrocketed to 18 last year, triple the level of the previous decade. There have been 11 such deals so far this year.

The driving force behind the wave of consolidation is the pressure to keep up with the shift toward autonomous driving that started about five years ago. Suppliers need the know-how to help cars see their environment much as a human pilot would, which means sensors, cameras and radar, plus the computing power to comprehend the waves of data and share some of it, like traffic conditions, from vehicle to vehicle. Meanwhile, parts makers are getting cheaper, with economic uncertainty and Brexit concerns driving share prices down.