Driverless car

In an effort to boost driverless car technology in the UK, Chancellor George Osborne has announced a further £100m in funds in the 2015 Budget to develop the technology.

Osborne applauded the country’s ‘brilliant automotive industry’ and said the investment will be fund the research and development of automated cars, as well as the systems required over the next five years.

Companies and organisations can avail the amount through a series of competitions so as to finance specific areas of research.

As part of a new UK driverless car initiative, the government is already said to have invested £19m into research and development in 2014.

Osborne also proposed a fund of £5m for the research of autonomous vehicles at the University of Oxford.

"The £100m investment into developing driverless cars will be warmly received by the automotive industry."

The government estimates the worldwide driverless car sector to be worth £900bn a year by 2025, which is currently growing at 16% a year.

Osborne further announced that the government will look at rolling out better roads, quicker journeys between the major cities of the north by working with Transport for the North.

In January, it was announced that three city councils collaborated with automotive manufacturers to test the possibility of autonomous cars on UK roads.

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable told The Telegraph: "The UK has a long history of transport innovation and is now home to a diverse and dynamic automotive sector.

"Today’s £200m investment will ensure the UK stays at the cutting-edge and is well placed to profit from the growing market for hi-tech vehicles of the future."

KPMG UK automotive head John Leech said: "The £100m investment into developing driverless cars will be warmly received by the automotive industry.

"The UK is well-placed to develop driverless cars compared with other EU countries. Pilots of the technology are already underway in Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry and we have Europe’s finest independent testing facilities for this technology at MIRA.

"Driverless cars will reduce congestion and improve safety and this investment will help to unlock these benefits in the next decade."

Image: The UK Government has given a £19m investment for the trial of driverless cars. Photo: courtesy of the UK Government.