Preparing for an Autonomous Future: How Fleet Owners Can Get Ahead

By 2030, autonomous vehicles are projected to comprise roughly 25 % of all passenger cars worldwide. In the UK, regulators have already approved trials of convoys of partially self‑driving lorries. While robust infrastructure, legislation and public confidence will take time to mature, fleet operators can no longer ignore the inevitable shift to driverless technology.

Invest in a Connected Ecosystem Now

Automated driving is categorized into five maturity stages. Stage 5 – a fully autonomous system that performs at or above a human driver – remains a distant goal. Today, we are at Stage 2, where driver‑assist features such as adaptive cruise control and lane‑centering are common. Derek Bryan, Vice‑President EMEA at Verizon Connect, stresses that fleet managers should not wait for Stage 5 to arrive. Instead, they should begin integrating connected‑vehicle solutions into their current fleets.

Connected‑vehicle technology delivers measurable gains in safety, productivity and cost efficiency. By continuously exchanging data between vehicles, infrastructure and fleet‑management platforms, operators gain real‑time insights that eliminate guesswork and enable proactive decision‑making.

What’s New in Connected‑Vehicle Tech?

Recent breakthroughs include video‑based safety and compliance monitoring, AI‑driven predictive maintenance, and GPS‑enabled smart parking. Fleet managers can now track driver behaviour in real time, coach crews instantly, and eliminate inefficiencies such as idling—ultimately raising safety and reducing fuel consumption.

More advanced operators are testing truck platooning, a digital tethering of small lorry convoys that allows vehicles to travel in close succession, cutting fuel use and easing congestion.

Infrastructure and Data Challenges Ahead

It is projected that within the next three years, at least one in five vehicles will carry a wireless network connection. Yet, the data appetite of a fully autonomous car is staggering. While an average smartphone user consumes several gigabytes per month, a driverless vehicle can generate up to 4 TB of data every day. Moreover, a battery‑powered haulage truck could require the power equivalent to energizing 4,000 homes just to recharge itself.

Our current network infrastructure is simply not ready for these demands. The solution lies in deploying a robust, high‑speed 5G network capable of handling the massive data flows that autonomous fleets will produce. The CASE initiative—Connectivity, Autonomous driving, Sharing, and Electrification—already spurs significant investment in this direction. As autonomous‑vehicle algorithms mature, the required data volume is expected to decline.

Although full autonomy is still years away, every business—regardless of size—can start preparing today by investing in a connected‑vehicle ecosystem. The payoff is immediate operational transformation and long‑term readiness for the driverless era. Strategic early investment will position fleets to capitalize on future breakthroughs.

Author: Derek Bryan, Vice‑President EMEA, Verizon Connect