FCAI member organisations, their parent entities and related supply chain partners are at the cutting edge of innovation. According to the US Auto Alliance, in 2018 global vehicle manufacturers invested more than US$125 billion on automotive research and development in areas including safety, low emissions, connected vehicles and autonomy. This investment compares favourably with US$22 billion invested in the aerospace and defence industries. It is this level of investment globally that continues to, amongst other priorities, significantly contribute towards the development of increasing levels of automation in vehicles.
It is the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) progressing to the increasing levels of automation that can reduce and ultimately eliminate driver error from the driving task. As a result, this can contribute substantially to driver support, and where necessary or desired, take control with the ultimate aim of improving road safety.
FCAI notes that Automated Vehicle (AV) technology development is still at the nascent stage with many overseas jurisdictions considering and debating the various regulatory options to manage these technologies with several different approaches being considered and, in some cases, commencing to be implemented. It is vitally important that as Australia progresses to develop regulatory options that close attention is paid to these developments and that Australia remains flexible in our regulatory approach enabling us to take advantage of these beneficial global developments.
The full submission is available below.