The United Arab Emirates has ranked in the top 10 in the KPMG’s Autonomous Vehicle Readiness Index (AVRI), which evaluates how prepared countries are to accommodate driverless vehicles
The overall performance was supported by positive consumer opinion with regard to autonomous vehicles (AVs).
When it came to openness toward the concept and technology investments required to make AVs a reality, the study found that the UAE was ahead of many other nations.
The four main pillars of the study revealed that the UAE ranked 11th in terms of policy and legislation supporting AVs, 14th in terms of technology and innovation, fifth in terms of infrastructure and seventh in terms of customer acceptance.
The UAE has been found to lead the measures on road quality (ranked #1), the readiness to change its technological infrastructure (ranked #1) and for its government’s overall change readiness (ranked #2).
Ravi Suri, a partner, global head of Infrastructure Finance, KPMG Lower Gulf, said, “Autonomous vehicles offer tremendous social and environmental benefits. There is already a huge acceleration in investment in AV technology, including policy adoption by governments to encourage AVs.”
“With Dubai’s enthusiasm for technological innovations—in particular, its forays into artificial intelligence and blockchain—the UAE is well-positioned to leverage the tremendous benefits of AVs in the future,” he added.
By 2030, Dubai aims to make 25 per cent of all transport autonomous, based on a strategy launched in 2016 that focuses on environmental and efficiency improvements.
“The initiatives undertaken by the UAE government to make automation and AVs a reality reinforce the possibility of a future where people live cleaner, more efficient and safer lives,” he concluded.
