Who Leads Autonomous Driving Patent Race?

IT companies, including Google, lag behind traditional car and component makers in the autonomous vehicle market, according to US-based news outlet Business Insider.

It reported on August 29 (local time) that the Cologne Institute for Economic Research identified and analyzed 5,839 autonomous driving patents filed between January 2010 and July 2017 to find out which companies are most active on that front.

Google just made the top 10 with 338 patents related to self-driving vehicles. Apple couldn’t even make the top 10. Google was widely considered to be a tech company that leads the future car market with its big declaration, but it doesn’t have enough patents. On the other hand, traditional car and component producers, whose survival was once threatened, are leading the autonomous driving technology. 

Robert Bosch, which has manufactured car components for a long time, ranked top with 958 patents. It seems a surprising result but Bosch has been steadily focused on self-driving technology, according to Business Insider. In addition, Bosch has developed the steering systems for Google’s driverless car prototype and supplied autonomous braking systems to Tesla, cooperating with its competitors.

Other traditional automakers were also at the top. Audi took second place with 516 patents, while Ford and GM came in fourth with 402 patents and fifth with 380 patents. Japan’s Toyota ranked seventh with 362 patents. Not even one domestic car maker, which belatedly entered the autonomous car market, failed to make the list.