Singapore Autonomous Cars Market Trends

• Connectivity and digitization: Connectivity and digitization is greatly influencing the autonomous cars market in Singapore. With advancements in technologies like 5G, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication and cloud computing, autonomous vehicles are becoming more intelligent, connected and able to process massive amounts of real-time data. This is enhancing their navigational abilities on Singapore's busy roads. Vehicles are now able to communicate with other vehicles, infrastructure like traffic lights and signs, and share safety related alerts in real-time through V2X. This helps them detect potential hazards quicker and coordinate traffic flows better to avoid accidents. The high connectivity also allows car manufacturers to constantly update vehicle software and add new features over-the-air through cloud servers. This type of remote upgradeability was not possible in traditional vehicles and gives autonomous cars a clear upgrade path to keep improving their abilities.
• Electric vehicles: As EVs require less maintenance and have lower fueling costs compared to gasoline vehicles, their total cost of ownership is lower. This makes autonomous EVs more economically viable options for shared mobility services like robotaxis which are expected to be crucial for first mile last mile transportation in Singapore. Companies like Grab and ComfortDelGro have partnered with automakers to introduce EV options to their fleets and conduct trials of driverless EV runs with a safety operator. Their goal is to eventually offer autonomous EV rides to customers without any human driver. As battery charges last longer than refueling of gasoline tanks, autonomous EVs also allow for longer operational hours and higher vehicle utilization rates which will be important for the financial viability of robotaxi services. The Land Transport Authority's 2021 survey found that over 25% of over 2700 respondents were already regularly using or were open to using driverless vehicles (Source - LTA). As autonomous EV technology continues advancing, offering solutions like green, low-cost robotaxis will be crucial to gaining more public acceptance. This is likely to accelerate the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles in Singapore, benefiting not just commuters but also autonomous vehicle developers and future mobility service providers.
• Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence is having a significant impact on advancing autonomous vehicle technology in Singapore. With the government very aggressively pushing development and adoption of self-driving cars, AI has become a core focus. Major players like nuTonomy, Grab and ComfortDelGro have been investing heavily in AI research and development to enhance object detection, navigation and decision making abilities of their test fleet vehicles. This has enabled the capabilities of autonomous vehicles to grow rapidly. For instance, nuTonomy  develops and deploys autonomous vehicles and driverless technology, conducted a pilot project in one-north Business Park in 2019 with 6 driverless taxis demonstrating Level 4 autonomy without safety drivers. The vehicles were able to navigate complex scenarios involving pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles. This project highlighted the progress made through continual upgrades to the AI systems. As AI drives more improvements, consumer confidence in the safety and reliability of autonomous driving is increasing.

Figure 1. Singapore Autonomous Cars Market Share (%), by Vehicle type, 2024