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Educated, Wealthy People Are Most Eager to Welcome Self-Driving Cars, Study Says

For the past four years or so, Audi has been looking into the social acceptance of self-driving cars, although the carmaker showed so far little interest in actually making such a vehicle. The results of their latest study into this matter, conducted with the help of market research institute Ipsos, was just published this week by the Germans.
Audi says education and income affect perception of AVs 1 photo
Photo: Audi
As in all other aspects of life, the study showed that the people most eager for self-driving technology to get here are young, educated and high-earning. And the opposite end, the most reluctant are those with lower income and lower education.

As per the results of the study, which took into account the answers of 21,000 people in nine countries, even the strongest interest in this tech is kept in check by what Audi calls safety-oriented reluctance.

That means people are mostly willing to try on autonomous cars (AVs), but only after they’ve been properly tested and enough is known about them. As things are today, the majority of those questioned would consider taking a ride in such a car, provided they could take control in case of need.

During the research, Audi says it uncovered five typologies when it comes to the public’s perception of AVs.

The suspicious driver likes to stick with what already exists and would only turn to AVs when they become the new normal.

The safety oriented reluctant needs to see the results of years of safety testing before getting on board with the tech.

The open-minded co-pilot understands how these cars are a good thing, but they would also like to retain some measure of control.

The status-oriented trendsetter is the one that would adopt AVs in an instant if it comes as a further proof of their social status and progressive lifestyle.

And lastly, the tech-savvy passenger is the one who knows a thing or two about how these things work and has no reservation in their deployment.

The results of the Audi-Ipsos study can be found in the document attached below.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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