5G in Connected & Autonomous Cars

This is the Executive Summary from the latest report (43 pages) from Resource Leaders.

This paper is a study of the Connected and Autonomous Car markets and explores the various technologies to facilitate the application of 5G in Connected & Autonomous Cars, with focus on what works and what are the key opportunities.

5G represents a paradigm shift in the future of mobility. In the automotive sector, 5G delivers safety-enhancing C-V2X capability that is an essential enabler for autonomous transportation.

At the same time, with increasing digital penetration and evolving millennials, coupled with a need to optimize the high cost of operations, demand for connected and autonomous vehicles are rapidly growing. According to industry experts, the connected-car market is growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 45% - 10 times as fast as the overall car market.

The current infrastructure acts as a bottleneck to drive this space. This is where 5G is poised to be a critical success factor according to most of the auto companies driving this initiative.

Apart from sharing specific elements of Autonomous and Connected Car technologies, there are essential components of the overall category. While they include the expected launch window and reliability levels, we highlight critical challenges related to integrating 5G with Connected & Autonomous Cars.

While 5G would drive the core technology behind these vehicles, there are other applications that are evolving alongside. One of the core technologies used for Autonomous Cars is the V2X technology, which has been described in detail.

Even though both the technology and the applications are disruptive, they are bound to face some hurdles as adoption rates increase. Some of the key areas to work on include challenges in Data Processing, Data Storage and Data Security. There is also a perspective on Limited Impact of Wide-Area connectivity, wherein 5G is not necessarily required for every element of connectivity.

The discussion on the Connected Car ecosystem structures the various sub-segments where players operate currently. A snapshot of the key players in each of these sub-segments has been provided, along with the innovation quotient of each of these sub-segments.

Initiatives in Autonomous Cars are examined including the focus areas (sub-segments) where players, which include semiconductor companies and regional startups mostly operate.