Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      War of words erupts over home affairs database fee hike

      24 June 2025

      Don’t expect Starlink in South Africa anytime soon

      24 June 2025

      Finally! Tribunal unpacks why it blocked Vodacom’s Vumatel deal

      24 June 2025

      Samsung to unveil new folding phones at July event

      24 June 2025

      Capital Appreciation banks on payments to offset software slump

      24 June 2025
    • World

      Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines hits $10-billion valuation

      24 June 2025

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E3: Behind Takealot’s revenue surge

      23 June 2025

      TCS | South Africa’s Sociable wants to make social media social again

      23 June 2025

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      South Africa risks being left behind as stablecoins reshape global finance

      6 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » In-depth » Silicon Valley is winning the driverless car race

    Silicon Valley is winning the driverless car race

    By The Conversation26 February 2018
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    A Waymo autonomous car

    Henry Ford didn’t invent the motor car. The late 1800s saw a flurry of innovation by hundreds of companies battling to deliver on the promise of fast, efficient and reasonably priced mechanical transportation. Ford later came to dominate the industry thanks to the development of the moving assembly line.

    Today the sector is poised for another breakthrough with the advent of cars that drive themselves. But unlike the original wave of automobile innovation, the race for supremacy in autonomous vehicles is concentrated among a few corporate giants. So, who is set to dominate this time?

    I’ve analysed six companies we think are leading the race to build the first truly driverless car. Three of these — General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen — come from the existing car industry and need to integrate self-driving technology into their existing fleet of mass-produced vehicles. The other three — Tesla, Uber and Waymo (owned by the same company as Google) — are newcomers from the digital technology world of Silicon Valley and have to build a mass manufacturing capability.

    Waymo’s experience, technology capability and ability to secure solid partnerships puts it at the head of the pack

    While it’s impossible to know all the developments at any given time, we have tracked investments, strategic partnerships and official press releases to learn more about what’s happening behind the scenes. The car industry typically rates self-driving technology on a scale from level 0 (no automation) to level 5 (full automation). We’ve assessed where each company is now and estimated how far they are from reaching the top level. Here’s how we think each player is performing.

    Volkswagen

    Volkswagen has invested in taxi-hailing app Gett and partnered with chip maker Nvidia to develop an artificial intelligence co-pilot for its cars. In 2018, the VW Group is set to release the Audi A8, the first production vehicle that reaches level 3 on the scale, “conditional driving automation”. This means the car’s computer will handle all driving functions, but a human has to be ready to take over if necessary.

    Ford

    Ford already sells cars with a level 2 autopilot, “partial driving automation”. This means one or more aspects of driving are controlled by a computer based on information about the environment, for example combined cruise control and lane centring. Alongside other investments, the company has put US$1 billion into Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company for self-driving vehicles. Following a trial to test pizza delivery using autonomous vehicles, Ford is now testing level 4 cars on public roads. These feature “high automation”, where the car can drive entirely on its own but not in certain conditions such as when the road surface is poor or the weather is bad.

    Who’s winning the race. Image: IMD

    General Motors

    GM also sells vehicles with level 2 automation but, after buying Silicon Valley start-up Cruise Automation in 2016, now plans to launch the first mass production-ready level-5 autonomy vehicle that drives completely on its own by 2019. The Cruise AV will have no steering wheel or pedals to allow a human to take over and be part of a large fleet of driverless taxis the company plans to operate in big cities. But crucially the company hasn’t yet secured permission to test the car on public roads.

    Waymo (Google)

    Founded as a special project in 2009, Waymo separated from Google (though they’re both owned by the same parent firm, Alphabet) in 2016. Though it has never made, sold or operated a car on a commercial basis, Waymo has created test vehicles that have clocked more than 6.5m kilometress without human drivers as of November 2017. Waymo tested its level-5 car, Firefly, between 2015 and 2017 but then decided to focus on hardware that could be installed in other manufacturers’ vehicles, starting with the Chrysler Pacifica.

    Uber

    The taxi-hailing app maker Uber has been testing autonomous cars on the streets of Pittsburgh since 2016, always with an employee behind the wheel ready to take over in case of a malfunction. After buying the self-driving truck company Otto in 2016 for a reported $680m, Uber is now expanding its AI capabilities and plans to test Nvidia’s latest chips in Otto’s vehicles. It has also partnered with Volvo to create a self-driving fleet of cars, and with Toyota to co-create a ride-sharing autonomous vehicle.

    Tesla Roadster

    Tesla

    The first major car manufacturer to come from Silicon Valley, Tesla was also the first to introduce level-2 autopilot back in 2015. The following year, it announced that all new Teslas would have the hardware for full autonomy, meaning once the software is finished it can be deployed on existing cars with an instant upgrade. Some experts have challenged this approach, arguing that the company has merely added surround cameras to its production cars that aren’t as capable as the laser-based sensing systems that most other car makers are using.

    But the company has collected data from hundreds of thousands of cars, driving millions of kilometres across all terrains. So we shouldn’t dismiss the firm’s founder, Elon Musk, when he claims a level-4 Tesla will drive from Los Angeles to New York without any human interference within the first half of 2018.

    Winners

    For now, the disruptors like Tesla, Waymo and Uber seem to have the upper hand. While the traditional automakers are focusing on bringing level-3 and -4 partial automation to market, the new companies are leapfrogging them by moving more directly towards level-5 full automation. Waymo may have the least experience of dealing with consumers in this sector but it has already clocked up a huge amount of time testing some of the most advanced technology on public roads.

    The incumbent car makers are also focused on the difficult process of integrating new technology and business models into their existing manufacturing operations by buying up small companies. The challengers, on the other hand, are easily partnering with other big players including manufacturers to get the scale and expertise they need more quickly.

    Tesla is building its own manufacturing capability but also collecting vast amounts of critical data that will enable it to more easily upgrade its cars when ready for full automation. Waymo’s experience, technology capability and ability to secure solid partnerships puts it at the head of the pack.The Conversation

    • Michael Wade is professor of innovation and strategy, Cisco chair in digital business transformation, IMD Business School
    • This article was originally published on The Conversation


    Elon Musk Ford General Motors GM Tesla top Uber Volkswagen VW Waymo
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleSpaceX, Uber CEOs square off over flying cars
    Next Article Pharmaceuticals industry ‘facing its own Y2K’

    Related Posts

    Tesla shares soar after first robo-taxi rides hit the road

    24 June 2025

    Starlink launches in Lesotho amid US tariff threat

    24 June 2025

    Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

    19 June 2025
    Company News

    Communication costs exploding? Telviva has a fix for UK-SA teams

    24 June 2025

    Section 18A deductions and BEE points – a strategic choice for business compliance in 2025

    24 June 2025

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: beauty, brains and a battery that won’t quit

    24 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.