As an official European AV Summit 2026 partner, we’re delighted to offer Cars Of The Future readers a substantial 25% discount on tickets.
The 5th edition of the prestigious industry event, “where leaders in autonomous mobility and AI unite to innovate, collaborate, and inspire new possibilities”, will be held in London – at the historic County Hall on the South Bank – on Thursday 19 March.
With Waymo and Wayve trailblazing deployments, the UK capital stands at the forefront of real-world autonomous mobility adoption, setting new standards for safety, sustainability, and accessibility.
AV leaders
Big-name speakers will include Lukas Neckermann of Neckermann Strategic Advisors, Guido Di Pasquale of PAVE Europe, Chris Moore of Apollo ibott, and Martyn Briggs of Bank of America, along with Self-Driving Industry Award winners Michael Talbot, Rebecca Posner and Meera Naran MBE.
Other event partners include law firm Hogan Lovell, charging specialist Rocsys, vision-based driving software provider Imagry, climate tech specialist Sustainable Ventures, and business networking company Bayern Innovativ.
For further info and bookings please Click Here, remembering to use code “Cars” to activate your exclusive Cars Of The Future 25% reduction.
European AV Summit 2026
AV event report: Intelligent Transport Systems UK Parliamentary Reception, June 2025
We were delighted to attend the Intelligent Transport Systems UK (ITS UK) Parliamentary Reception at Westminster last week (Tuesday 17 June), with highlights including a policy update from Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP, and notable praise for the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act.
After initial networking and a chance to take in the glorious views from the Terrace Pavilion, we were greeted by Henry Tufnell MP, who referenced progress on the AV Act – prompting a spontaneous round of applause – the Bus Services Bill, Great British Railways (GBR), the National AI Strategy, and the Integrated National Transport Strategy (INTS).
There followed a compelling short speech by Peter Simm, of event sponsor Mobius Networks. “Transport relies on digital systems, so we need to take cybersecurity seriously,” he said. “Imagine if impacts lasted for 6 weeks, like the recent M&S attack.”
Peter Simm, of Mobius Networks, at ITS UK Parliamentary Reception, June 2025
ITS UK Chief Executive, Max Sugarman, then spoke eloquently about expanding choice and joining up modes, helping local authorities move from trials to deployment, and having a grown-up conversation about road charging.
The gravitas of the occasion was reflected by the seniority of both the speakers and the ITS UK members in attendance. We heard from not only Lilian Greenwood MP, but also the Shadow Transport Minister, Lord Moylan, and the Lib Dem’s Transport Spokesperson, Paul Kohler MP.
All party support for AVs
Lord Moylan thanked ITS UK for fostering collaboration and promoting innovation. “The greatest risk lies in running away from new technology,” he said. “The Conservative Party is supportive of the AV Act, which lays the groundwork. It is a significant step to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of this technology.”
Lauding the Netherlands for its cutting-edge approach to integrated transport, Kohler urged greater local decision-making. “This cannot all come from the centre,” he said. “We need to hear what local communities need. Some rural areas have no buses at all, it’s just not good enough. Now is the time for ambition and innovation.”
The headline slot naturally went to the government. Lilian Greenwood (Labour member of parliament for Nottingham South since 2010, now Minister for the Future of Roads) spoke of the Department for Transport’s vision for “safer, faster journeys for everyone”.
Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood MP, at ITS UK Parliamentary Reception, June 2025
Describing AVs as “an example of the benefits AI can bring”, and the issue of marketing terms as “an important safety matter”, she added: “The months, years, decades ahead are full of opportunities for transport. If we get it right, there’s a very bright future.”
UK transport community
Formalities complete, we adjourned to the balcony by the Thames for further networking. Especially coming the day before MOVE London 2025 at Excel, there was a pleasing mix of familiar self-driving faces – Kenneth Clarke of Silvera Automotive Solutions, Hendrik Frenzel of Dromos, Jamie Hodsdon of Oxa, Karla Jakeman of TRL, and Richard Morris of Innovate UK – and representatives from the wider intelligent transport community.
Absolute pleasure to chat with Paula Claytonsmith of The Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG), Jordan Cowley of Transport for West Midlands (TFWM), ITS consultant Alistair Gollop, Paul Hudson of Now Wireless, Jon Lyons of Mobius, John Paddington of ERTICO, Ian Patey of WSP, Rachael Quinn of ITS UK, Dave Todman of Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Andrew Waight of Solent Streetworks.
Paul Hudson and Kenneth Clarke talking AV – not a bad view eh?
For more on how ITS UK is helping to build safer, greener, more integrated transport networks, visit its-uk.org
New self-driving consumer opinion survey identifies continuing negativity and gender and age divides.
A new survey by Go.Compare car insurance has found that 45% of the UK population don’t like the idea of autonomous vehicles, they are, apparently, “Not AV’ing it”.
What’s more, it found a gender divide too, with 26% of men actively liking the idea, compared to just 13% of women, and an age divide, with more younger Brits, 32% of 18-24-year-olds, keen on the idea.
Ryan Fulthorpe, of Go.Compare, said: “While we’re still a way off AVs being an everyday occurrence on UK roads, it appears that may actually suit a lot of motorists for the moment, as they’re not quite ready for this type of travel.
“It’s understandable that there’s some reluctance as the use of AVs has always seemed like a futuristic idea, but with Ford and Nissan both making significant in-roads with the technology, and other manufacturers undoubtedly looking to the future, it’s fast becoming a reality.
“However, if we want to promote mainstream adoption of this type of travel, the general public will understandably need to see more proof that the technology is sound and is a safe way to travel, as well as it having other benefits, such as easing congestion in cities.”
The most famous example in the ‘Ave it! genre is, of course, the John Smiths advert starring Peter Kaye’s no-nonsense approach to football training. Enjoy!
The legendary Peter Kaye John Smiths advert – ‘Ave it!
When can we expect autonomous vehicles – AVs – in the capital?
Automated vehicles (AVs) are the emerging superstars of 21st century mobility, from uber-luxurious driverless cars, to more ubiquitous robotaxis and delivery vans.
Self-driving tourism company, Autoura, provides a handy AV rollout tracker, with China having by far the most entries. In the US, robotaxis are already charging for rides in San Francisco and Phoenix.
The UK also pushed on this year. Oxbotica conducted a successful on-road test of its skateboard-like zero-occupancy EV, while CAVForth ran a single-decker autonomous bus in a landmark trial in Scotland. Both made global headlines.
MPs on AVs
As David Wong, senior technology and innovation manager at The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), told The Transport Select Committee in October: “The next step is to remove the safety driver altogether, whether the safety driver is inside the vehicle or remote.”
We face unique challenges, as Inma Martinez, author of The Future of the Automotive Industry, noted: “In the UK you have a lot of 60mph rural roads where you can barely see what’s coming. Then you have London, which is like no other city. It is a costly challenge to test smart road infrastructure without creating congestion.”
Quite so, but existing systems are astronomically expensive. Transport for London (TfL) came close to being bankrupt earlier this year, rescued by last-minute government funding. Paris subsidises its system to the tune of around €8bn a year.
Autonomy’s London City Summit on AVs
At Autonomy’s recent London City Summit, the stat of the day was the TfL target that, by 2041, 80% of journeys in the capital should be either by public transport or active travel.
A panel moderated by Professor Nick Reed, chief road safety adviser at National Highways, discussed the potential role of AVs, with Jakob Kammerer, senior product manager at Bosch, commenting: “Our trials show that people are curious about self-driving. Transparency always helps. We explain what we are doing and why – to make improved mobility for everyone. Once they see that a product is good and solves a problem, they will adopt it very quickly.”
Margarethe Theseira, of Bath-based engineering consultancy, Buro Happold, predicted that “the real benefits will come when everything is fully automated”, but worried that “it will be a rich person’s toy”.
Designer Marco Mazzotta, of Heatherwick Studio, mused on how cities might evolve architecturally with widespread AV adoption. He pointed to the huge amount of parking space that could be freed up, asking: “What will we use the space for? Is it going to be public or private?”
Other AVs
A later panel looked at the rapid rise of e-scooter hire and, eventually, these could also be self-driving. Years ago, Paul Priestman, famous for designing Virgin’s Pendolino train, described an e-scooter with a “take me home button”.
Yet there’s growing recognition that, when it comes to cars, the S in SEA (shared, electric and autonomous) is the most problematic.
Who wouldn’t want to own the incredible Audi Grandsphere concept car, advertised on telly during the World Cup? It has a “hands-off” mode, with a steering wheel which folds away, and aims to “redefine high class travelling”. It’s unapologetically exclusive.
Conversely, another Priestman-linked project, Dromos, offers a different mass transit solution, using small AVs running on-demand on dedicated routes.
Dromos AV proposal for Cambridgeshire
“Users want a ride quality comparable to that of a taxi, but at the price of a bus ticket,” said co-founder Dr Martin Dürr. “Privacy is an important topic, along with convenience and cleanliness.
“Pilots have shown that passengers have very little, if any, desire to share a driverless vehicle with a stranger. Actually, people are willing to pay a premium not to share. We provide capacity at a much better cost per mile.
“Following excellent discussions with the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), we have moved a lot of our attention and value chain to the UK.
“We have proposed a solution for the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and are in discussion with Manchester, The Ministry for Transport in Scotland and others.”
Please note: a version of this article was first published by the Institute of the Motor Industry’s MotorPro magazine.
It was inevitable, but it has still caused a stir – a couple have filmed a sex tape while travelling in a Tesla Model X in Autopilot mode on a US highway.
Media outlets across the globe reported that amateur porn star Taylor Jackson, of Los Angeles, performed the dangerous deed with her boyfriend and posted it on adult site PornHub.
She then took to Twitter to inform Tesla boss Elon Musk: “Holy shit, I made @Tesla the #1 search on pornhub.”
While Tesla warns all its drivers to “stay alert, drive safely and be in control of the vehicle at all times”, Musk couldn’t resist commenting: “Turns out there’s more ways to use Autopilot than we imagined… shoulda seen it coming…”
Two people who did predict it were UK academics Scott Cohen, of the University of Surrey, and Debbie Hopkins, of the University of Oxford.
In their 2018 paper Autonomous vehicles and the future of urban tourism, they noted: “While shared connected and autonomous vehicles (SCAVs) will likely be monitored to deter passengers having sex or using drugs in them, and to prevent violence, such surveillance may be rapidly overcome, disabled or removed.
“Moreover, personal CAVs will likely
be immune from such surveillance. Such private CAVs may also be put to
commercial use, as it is just a small leap to imagine Amsterdam’s Red Light
District on the move.”
The development is also a blow for
the acronym AV in the driverless world.
Already facing stiff completion from CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and electric), SDC (self-driving car) and others, it must now contend with adult video being a related search term.
