“It’s worth remembering that commuting sucks and it has gotten worse every decade,” Wakefield said in an interview. “Autonomous driving increases the economic utility of the commuter and it makes their life better. When you describe what it can do, they like that.”

Previous surveys

Wakefield said that what automakers testing autonomous vehicles have told him didn’t square with what he had seen from previous surveys. The companies “were saying, when we put people in these cars, they adore them,” he said. “They actually freak out the engineers because they get so comfortable so fast that the engineer sitting beside them has to say, ‘You may want to put your hands on the wheel.’"

Previous surveys may have fostered a bias against autonomous vehicles by emphasizing worst-case scenarios, Wakefield said. AlixPartners’ survey, done online earlier this month, found a “sweet spot” in offering drivers the option of taking the wheel in a vehicle that otherwise would operate autonomously.

“Having some sort of control where you can pilot the vehicle seems to be quite important to people,” Wakefield said. “They love the autonomous stuff, but they just want the ability to control it in whatever situations they’re imagining they need that.”

That preference could work against Google’s plan to offer fully self-driving cars without steering wheels, accelerators or brake pedals, he said.

Consumer preferences

Yet Silicon Valley companies had a clear advantage when consumers were asked who they trust most to develop the software and protect the privacy of data from driverless cars. AlixPartners said 41% in its survey said they wanted Silicon Valley to develop the software, compared to 26% who preferred Japanese automakers, 17% who chose U.S. automakers and 7% who favored European car companies.

When it comes to building the cars, U.S. and Japanese automakers ranked first and second, with 27% and 25%, respectively. Silicon Valley was a close third at 24%, followed by European automakers with 12%.

Components market

Driverless cars will hit an inflection point in 2020 when they begin arriving on roads, according to AlixPartners. By then, the market for autonomous-related components, such as systems that steer wandering cars back in their lanes or automatically navigate through stop-and-go-traffic, could surpass $20 billion, the firm said.

Self-driving cars, which drive more efficiently and safely, could save $325 billion by 2020 by avoiding accidents and reducing fuel costs, AlixPartners said.

“People do want autonomous vehicles,” Wakefield said. “People still buy safety. And they do believe these vehicles can be done safely.”

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