Automated and connected cars are already trialled on the streets in several countries. These cars benefit from increasingly advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and other applications that can contribute to safer traffic patterns, particularly in large cities.

While the EU's overarching policy objective is to achieve a cleaner, safer and more efficient transport system in the EU, as set out in the European Commission's Third Mobility Package of May 2018 - which includes a strategy to make Europe a world leader in fully automated and connected mobility systems, challenges are arising contributing to or working against the adoption of automated cars.