Benz, Infiniti owners would give up the wheel

But survey shows almost 48% are not interested in buying driverless cars

If you drive a Mercedes-Benz or an Infiniti luxury vehicle, you’re probably more willing than most drivers to give up the wheel to a robot, according to a MaritzCX survey.

About 27 per cent of owners of Daimler AG’s Mercedes and Nissan Motor Co’s Infiniti say they are “very interested” in buying a fully self-driving auto when those become available, according to the software and research firm’s survey completed this month. Owners of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Jeep sport utility vehicles and Ram pickups were the least interested, MaritzCX said.

“The luxury-vehicle owners are more willing to accept this technology because they believe safety would be much better in these types of vehicles,” said Shawn St. Clair, the survey author and global syndication director at MaritzCX. “If you’re interested in doing some off-roading in a Jeep or a Ram, you’re not interested in an autonomous vehicle.”

Convincing consumers to accept driverless vehicles is a challenge for automakers and Silicon Valley giants, who are pouring billions of dollars into the technology in a race to get it on the road.

While 94 per cent of those surveyed are aware autonomous autos are coming, almost 48 per cent aren’t interested in buying one, MaritzCX found. Even among Mercedes and Infiniti owners, more reject than accept the technology.

Equipment failure and autonomous cars becoming disoriented in traffic are among the top concerns among those surveyed, who also cited worries about keeping their vehicle secure from hackers, legal liability, and navigating around pedestrians and bicyclists.