Self-driving event review: APPG Road to Growth, May 2025
On Wednesday 7 May, we were delighted to attend the Self-Driving Vehicles All-Party Parliamentary Group’s Road to Growth event at Portcullis House, Westminster.
As usual, there were representatives from across the transport ecosystem, with legal services and the insurance industry particularly well represented this time.
Opening the session, Self-Driving APPG Chair and Labour Growth Group Co-Chair, Chris Curtis MP, called on the government to be more nimble and agile in pursuit of global technology leadership.
![[L-R] Pat McFadden MP and Chris Curtis MP on an Ohmio self-driving shuttle in Milton Keynes](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_800,h_600/https://carsofthefuture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/McFadden_Curtis_Ohmio_Jan25.jpg)
He then handed over to the expert panellists: David Wong, Senior Technology and Innovation Manager at The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and Sarah Gates, Head of Public Policy at Wayve.
Self-driving AI
Describing automated driving as “an application of AI at its finest”, Wong highlighted 2023 SMMT research, funded by Innovate UK, showing that that the market for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) could be worth £66 billion in the UK by 2040, creating 342,000 jobs and preventing 60,000 serious accidents.
“As an industry, we are fully supportive,” he said. “We now need to take the leap to commercial deployments on our roads.”
Pointing to three Ps – profit, people, and the planet – he urged swift action on: 1) Regulation to enable advanced trials, taking out the safety driver; 2) Strategic investment to build the business case and support manufacturing in the UK; and 3) Public education.
Noting that it is almost exactly a year since the AV Act received Royal Assent, Gates explained how London-based Wayve has grown from an AI startup to a global company with 600+ employees.
Backed by Nvidia and Microsoft, it is now licensing its software to major vehicle manufacturers. Notably, Nissan announced last month that its 2027 ProPILOT system will include Wayve’s AI Driver.
UK timescale
Asked by Curtis about the cybersecurity risk of malevolent forces potentially seizing control of an entire fleet of self-driving vehicles, Gates pointed to the robustness of UN Regulation 155, which focuses on the cybersecurity of all vehicles.
There is growing frustration among self-driving leaders that the tech is ready now, already being rolled out elsewhere, yet the UK timescale seems to be slipping.
“It takes real ministerial push to speed that up,” said Gates. “We’ve been consulting for six years!”
Meanwhile, Waymo alone is now providing 260,000 rides per week in America, increasing safety and accessibility for ever more willing customers.
