More than 1.5 million cars snapped up by British consumers boasted at least one semi-autonomous safety system.
According to analysis and data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and Jato Dynamics this week, over 50 per cent of cars sold over the past 12 months in the UK were delivered with features including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring or collision warning systems.
More impressive is the fact that in the majority of cases, the technology in question was a cost option -- meaning that the buyer chose to specify and pay extra for it as a feature.
Of the findings, Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "Fully driverless cars are still a long way off from everyday use, but this data shows advanced autonomous technology is already making its way into the majority of new cars."
In 2010, collision warning systems were specified on just 6.8 per cent of new cars registered in the UK. However, by the end of 2015, this figure has jumped to 58.1 per cent of new cars -- that's 1.53 million vehicles. Of that number 58 per cent came with the feature as standard.
However, only 18 per cent the 834,8290 cars sold with adaptive cruise control -- a system that allows a car to autonomously maintain a safe distance from the car ahead at highway speeds -- featured the technology as standard.
It's a similar story with blind spot monitoring, a feature specified as a cost option on 90 per cent of the 942,794 cars to hit the road in 2015 boasting the technology.
Based on sales, a collision warning system is the most popular form of semi-autonomous vehicle technology among UK drivers (58.1 per cent of all new cars), followed by autonomous emergency braking (39 per cent), blind spot monitoring (35.8 per cent) and adaptive cruise control (31.7 per cent).
The SMMT is hopeful that the trend will continue to accelerate. According to recent research conducted by the association, if fully autonomous vehicle development stays on track and the first self-driving cars arrive in the mid-2020s, by 2030, in the UK alone, it is forecast that serious road-related accidents could drop by 25,000 a year, meaning 2500 fewer deaths due to car crashes.
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