What is the Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index (AVRI)?

Ranking 20 Countries on their preparedness towards the adoption of Self-Driving Cars (SDCs)

According to a recent AVRI report, KPMG suggests that the tech-enabled move towards Autonomous Vehicles (AV) will drive immense economic benefits. This rapid development in the AVs also aligns with the public & private interest. Whether you an optimist envisioning the adoption of AVs within the next decade or someone who doesn’t see it happening for another 30 years, it is bound to happen and companies, policymakers & regulators need to get prepared for it sooner rather than later.

The infographic below basically summarizes the findings of the report. It details the five levels of automation currently available in the AVs and the preparedness of the Top 20 countries — based on their economic progress & automation progress. The rankings were determined based on four metrics of technology & innovation, infrastructure, policy & legislation, and consumer acceptance.

Economic impact

The economic impact of rapid development & adoption of Autonomous Vehicles is enormous — 70% of the $50 billion investment in the last 5 years came outside the automotive sector, like technology giants & specialist startups. Another study estimates the growth of the U.S economy by $1.3 trillion a year via AVs adoption. This growth will come from Reduction in accidents, Productivity gains, Decline in fuel costs, Fuel savings from congestion avoidance & Improved traffic flow and reduction of energy use.

Automation Levels

The report defines 5 levels of automation in the AVs. Level 0 in the infographic defines the age-old manual vehicles where everything is controlled by the driver, while Level 1–5 offers different levels of autonomy to the driver. Most of the AVs currently fall in between level 1–3, with certain Tesla models and Google’s Waymo exhibiting complete self-driving capabilities.

Level 0 — No automation (driver performs all the functions)

Level 1 — Driver Assistance (performing one task at a time)

Level 2 — Partial Automation (at least two automated functions)

Level 3 — Limited Automation (handles multiple automation tasks with driver assistance)

Level 4 — High Automation (Driverless vehicles in certain environments)

Level 5 — Complete Automation (Entirely autonomous without driver intervention)