In his 2016 budget proposal, British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne made clear his goal to add Great Britain to the roster of jurisdictions in which autonomous vehicle development has a government mandate.
If his proposals are approved, testing of fully autonomous vehicles could begin on UK roads as early as next year, with the further goal of retail availability to customers by 2020.
The proposals seem focused on raising the old empire’s profile when it comes to high-tech vehicle development. Allowing on-road testing would theoretically attract the highly desirable industrial and commercial infrastructure needed to support such projects on a consumer scale.
Auto Express quoted Osborne from his announcement: “At a time of great uncertainty in the global economy, Britain must take bold decisions now to ensure it leads the world when it comes to new technologies and infrastructure. That’s what my Budget next week will seek to do.”
Testing areas have already been assigned for various projects, with companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and various European telecommunication firms already pledged to the trial.
Just last week, the South Korean government announced that its first autonomous testing license was granted to Hyundai for use in its development program based on the Genesis sedan. That program is expected to expand rapidly in the coming years.
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