A survey on public sentiment on self-driving cars has shown that Lexus leads in consumer approval with an impressive 98.8 percent positive sentiment, the highest among all brands.
However, public sentiment toward self-driving cars remains sceptical, with only 25 percent of people expressing positive views, while 40 percent distrust the technology and 35 percent remain neutral.
The main concerns that people raise when it comes to autonomous vehicles are technology failures, unpredictable AI decision-making, legal liability, and cybersecurity risks.
These findings comes from a survey conducted by Good Guys Injury Law, who evaluated public sentiment and safety records for both self-driving cars and traditional car brands using a data-driven approach.
The study consisted of three main components: sentiment analysis of self-driving cars, safety and sentiment rankings, and safety (lowest accident rate) and sentiment (highest positive sentiment).
In terms of car manufacturers that create the highest level of trust, the top ten are:
- Kia
- Tesla
- Nissan
- Volvo
- Mercedes-Benz
- Lexus
- Land Rover
- Hyundai
- Ford
- Audi
Kia ranks 1st with a 97.5 percent positive sentiment score. The Korean manufacturer achieved an impressive sentiment result, making it the second most positively perceived brand. Kia also performed exceptionally well in safety perceptions, securing the 4th position in safety rankings and demonstrating balanced strength across both key metrics.
Tesla ranks 2nd with a 95.7 percent positive sentiment. The electric vehicle pioneer secured the top position in sentiment rankings with strong consumer feedback. Suffering from declining popularity, especially in Europe, Tesla received the second-lowest safety rank (32) among the top brands, highlighting a significant disparity between consumer enthusiasm and safety concerns.
Nissan ranks 3rd with a 93.2 percent consumer approval. The Japanese automaker earned a strong sentiment rate and ranked 3rd in sentiment rankings. Nissan performed well in safety perceptions with a 6th place safety rank, showing consistent performance across both sentiment and safety metrics.
Volvo ranks 4th with a 91.9 percent positive sentiment. The Swedish manufacturer achieved the 3rd highest safety rank, significantly outperforming brands like Tesla and Audi in this category. Volvo has strong consumer trust in its self-driving technology development, yet its sentiment score falls slightly below leaders like Kia and Tesla, placing it 7th in sentiment rankings.
Mercedes-Benz ranks 5th with 93.2 percent positive consumer feedback. The German luxury brand received identical sentiment to Nissan, placing it 5th in sentiment rankings. Mercedes-Benz also ranked 5th in safety perceptions, showing consistent performance across both metrics.
Lexus comes in 6th with a 98.8 percent positive sentiment score. The luxury division of Toyota achieved the highest positive sentiment score of all brands, surpassing even top-ranked Kia. Despite this great sentiment performance, Lexus ranked 10th in safety perceptions. Land Rover takes the 7th spot with an 87.3 percent positive sentiment score.
Hyundai ranks 8th with 92.9 percent consumer favourability. The Korean manufacturer achieved a strong sentiment result, placing it 6th in sentiment rankings. Ford follows in 9th with a 45.4 percent positive sentiment score. Audi rounds out the top ten. The German brand achieved a strong positive sentiment result, placing it 4th in sentiment rankings and slightly ahead of Mercedes-Benz.
Notably, there was a contrast between brand perception and safety rankings. This highlights an important paradox in the self-driving car market. While luxury brands enjoy strong consumer enthusiasm, safety concerns remain a significant hurdle for widespread adoption.
