39. An Overview of Technology, Benefits and Impact of Automated and Autonomous Driving on the Automotive Industry

Autonomous driving is becoming a central moving force towards the change in vehicles and therefore among others the automobile and mobility business, as well as numerous other industries, which today still believe that they do not have a relationship to digitalized autonomous vehicles. The changes in different industries, which can be initiated by autonomous vehicles, are a good example of changes, which can be initiated by digitalization on market places. This article is based on the hypothesis that the development of automated and later autonomous vehicles are an unstoppable development, which will be of great use to the economy and society. Against this background, the article illustrates what is to be understood by the concepts of automated and autonomous driving, and what useful effects can be expected for a number of stakeholders. In addition to this, the article explains the technical fundamentals of automated vehicles and the changes in the traffic‐related industry. In the last part, the article elaborates the impact on the automobile and traffic industry.