Quarter of miles travelled in the US by 2030 seen as driverless

An Acura RLX equipped with autonomous vehicle technology slows to avoid a pedestrian in a sidewalk as it is demonstrated at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station on June 1, 2016 in Concord, Calif.(Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group/TNS)

A quarter of all miles driven in the US could be in shared, self-driving electric cars by the end of the next decade, setting off a seismic shift that will upend the auto industry, according to a study on the rise of the autonomous age. 

A convergence of three trends – ride sharing, autonomous driving and vehicle electrification – will drive the shift, the Boston Consulting Group said in a study released April 10. The change will be most profound in cities with more than 1 million people, where consumers will find it more economically advantageous to exit their personal vehicles and start hailing robot taxis.