A new £40 million competition to kick-start commercial self-driving services, such as delivery vehicles and passenger shuttles, has been launched on Monday 23 May by Lord Grimstone, Minister for Investment. The funding could create tens of thousands of skilled jobs across the UK over the next decade.

The ‘Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility’ competition is set to provide grants to help roll out commercial use self-driving vehicles across the UK from 2025, delivering convenience for consumers and making journeys safer, greener and more reliable.

The competition hopes to bring together companies and investors so that sustainable business models to be rolled out nationally and exported globally.

Trudy Harrison,Transport Minister, said:

"We know that self-driving vehicles have the potential to revolutionise the way we travel, making our future journeys cleaner, easier and more reliable. But our absolute priority is harnessing the technology to improve road safety."