- The share of Level 2 cars in the US’ total car sales increased to 46.5% in H1 2022.
- Toyota and Honda led the Level 2 segment with 24% and 14% shares respectively.
- ADAS penetration is expected to cross 80% in the US by 2023.
- Fully autonomous cars (L4-L5) are taking longer than projected to reach the market.
Cars with Level 2 (L2) autonomy features increased their share in the total car sales in the US to 46.5% in H1 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s US Autonomous Vehicle Tracker. The L2 cars’ share is rising because Level 1 (L1) features such as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Centering Assist (LCA) do not create much value for consumers and brands. But the usability and value go up when both of these ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) features are bundled together to offer L2 autonomy. Many brands offer ADAS suites, like Ford’s Co-Pilot 360, Toyota’s Safety Sense and BMW’s Active Driving Assistant, though these suites offer L0-L2 features currently. All this has helped ADAS (L1-L2) penetration in the US to cross 70% in H1 2022.
Commenting on the adoption of autonomous vehicles, Research Analyst Mohit Sharma said, “Fully autonomous cars (L4-L5) look distant in the future as autonomous driving has turned out to be more complex than thought. However, now automakers like GM, Ford and Tesla are wooing customers by offering L2+ hands-free driving systems to make driving less stressful on the highway. Volume carmakers like Toyota and Honda have added L2 ADAS as a standard feature in their latest car models. The carmakers have also increased the availability of L2 for more models by offering an ADAS suite/package as a standard or option for lower price bands.”
Commenting on the autonomous vehicle business, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said, “Automakers are looking to create new revenue streams through a subscription model for over-the-air (OTA) updates for driving technologies. However, for this to happen, the cars should have the necessary hardware to enable L2+ or L3 driving systems. This subscription model will be good for both customers and OEMs as customers could buy according to their needs and OEMs would have a recurring revenue model.”
In H1 2022, Toyota and Honda sold the most cars with L2 driving systems and led the L2 car market with 24% and 14% sales share respectively. Premium brands like Mercedes-Benz still offer L2 as an option in most of their models except high-end models like the S-Class.
The hype over autonomous driving has been so much that most of the auto OEMs invested heavily in launching autonomous vehicles. In fact, during the initial years, a few OEMs like Ford, Volvo and Honda wanted to skip Level 3. Some parts of the world have already seen the launch of Level 3 cars, but the US is still waiting for such cars due to the absence of federal autonomous vehicle regulations. Auto companies are now realizing that L4-L5 driving will take longer than thought and, therefore, want to target the L2+ and L3 market. For instance, Ford and other major automakers like GM, Hyundai and Nissan are introducing L2+ capabilities to their cars. This will help the carmakers increase the adoption rate of L2+ and L3 driving features.
Commenting on the market outlook, Associate Research Director, Brady Wang said, “The US’ ADAS (L1 and L2) penetration is expected to cross 80% by 2023 as consumers become more aware of the ADAS capabilities for safe and convenient driving. As the autonomous vehicle industry becomes mature, it will see consolidation in the near term. For instance, we witnessed the demise of autonomous driving company Argo AI last month.”
