TR68 could attract foreign autonomous technology firms to Singapore: Fitch

The nation’s ageing population would encourage further government support to the industry.

Technical Reference 68 (TR68), the new set of provisional national standards for the development and deployment of fully autonomous vehicles (AVs), could attract foreign autonomous technology firms to Singapore as the country is expected to accelerate the Singapore's development and adoption of autonomous vehicles, according to a report by Fitch Solutions.

Fitch stated that TR68 will create targets for autonomous vehicle technology developers to reach and will seek to eliminate a lot of the risk and uncertainty surrounding this technology. Developers would be able to operate the vehicles in a real world environment which will support their development of this tech.

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Singapore's ageing population will also further motivate the government to support the development and adoption of autonomous vehicles, Fitch Solutions said. “This could mean that more of the population will eventually leave the automotive market due their age and the increased risks that they potentially pose to other motorists on the roads.”

Another factor Fitch Solutions stated that will encourage further government support for the autonomous vehicles market is the growing congestion levels on the country's roads in order to streamline the traffic and improve the efficiency of the whole transportation system.

Photo from NUS