Unlocking the Potential of Autonomous Vehicles in the Sharing Economy Context: Key Factors and Impacts

The current transportation system faces challenges like traffic congestion, high costs, pollution, and safety concerns. Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs), which merge sharing economy principles with autonomous driving technology, offer a promising solution. It allows owners to share their vehicles, potentially reducing costs, congestion, and environmental impacts. It is defined as electric autonomous vehicles with shared mobility. Despite their potential benefits, widespread adoption of SAVs is uncertain. This research aims to analyze the potential of SAVs and the factors influencing their deployment through theoretical and empirical methods, including literature review, SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, and quantitative analysis. Findings indicate that SAVs could improve traffic efficiency, reduce travel costs, lower emissions and energy consumption, and enhance safety. However, barriers such as high initial investment, technical immaturity, societal distrust, and market reluctance remain. The study also highlights the positive impacts of supportive policies, technological advancements, and increased environmental awareness to SAVs' market potential.