Autonomous cars reality: Not for some time, but they’re coming, experts say at summit

RALEIGH — The technology behind self-driving cars is almost here. But how long will it take to finally hit our streets and become widespread?

Not anytime soon, says Dinesh Chopra, Ally Financial’s chief strategy officer.

Appearing as a panelist in the opening session of the Automotive Intelligence Summit in Raleigh, he said he didn’t expect a major disruption in the market in the near future.

“There are so many open questions that need to be figured out before autonomous vehicles take hold,” he told a 250-strong audience gathered for the three-day summit at the Raleigh Marriot Crabtree Valley this Tuesday.

“For the next five to 10 years, we don’t expect that much change to take place. After [that], it’s hard to project.”

Mark Olson, PNC Bank, and Dinesh Chopra, Ally Financial’s chief strategy officer.

Fellow panelist Mark Olson, PNC Bank’s senior vice president of dealer finance, also believes it’s going to take a while.

“It freaks people out,” he said about many people’s reactions, including his wife’s, to the early iterations of cars currently being manufactured by companies like Tesla and Cadillac.

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“They just don’t like it having control. The systems work incredible. I love them. I’m a technology guy. But it’s going to be such a mindset change.”

Still, he remained convinced it’s on the horizon.

“It’s going to be a long time before that trend changes. But it’s coming,” he said.

Sponsored by Experian, the summit is expected to run over the next three days and cover a range of topics, including compliance regulations, connectivity, mobility, digital retail, predictive analytics and investing.