John O’Donnell, Washington, D.C. Auto Show president and CEO, recently proposed the creation of a worldwide advocacy group to create meaningful standards for autonomous vehicles in a speech at the China–U.S. Automotive Summit as part of the Beijing Motor Show.
The group, which he calls Global Autonomous Vehicle Engineering Organization (GAVEO), would be a global advocacy group comprised of members from seven major auto-making countries. It would create and promote a single set of engineering standards to be used worldwide by autonomous-vehicle manufacturers. The standards could be used to create appropriate regulations in each country.
The major auto-making countries are China, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States, O’Donnell said.
The lack of consistent standards has hampered development, O’Donnell said, and immediate action will ensure self-driving technology advances quickly and safety.
“The time for GAVEO is now, while the autonomous industry is still in its relative infancy,” O’Donnell said. “Standardization will make vehicles safer and greatly benefit the consumers who will eventually buy, own and operate self-driving vehicles while creating stability for automakers, technology companies, and government leaders around the world.”
The Washington, D.C. Auto Show is one of the five top auto shows in the United States.