*Article* **The Future of Autonomous Vehicles in the Opinion of Automotive Market Users**

**Monika Stoma 1, Agnieszka Dudziak 1,\*, Jacek Caban <sup>2</sup> and Paweł Dro ´zdziel <sup>2</sup>**


**\*** Correspondence: agnieszka.dudziak@up.lublin.pl

**Abstract:** Contemporary trends are focused on the development of the so-called smart, connected and multimedia cars as well as actions in the field of driving autonomy, and these trends may lead to changes in the structure of the industry through the emergence and growth of the importance of new entities. The article presents the concept of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and the way it is perceived by users of traditional cars. Surveys were carried out in various age groups on the possibilities of developing AVs in Poland. The group of respondents were inhabitants of a rural area, small towns and cities with over 300,000 inhabitants. Based on our own research, it can be concluded that, due to many different factors, including costs, legal regulations and conviction, among others, AVs will not appear so soon in common use on Polish roads. The results of the research showed that the majority of respondents consider hybrid vehicles (HVs) and then electric vehicles (EVs) to be the dominant type of vehicles in the near future in Poland, at the same time pointing at the long process of adopting AV technology.

**Keywords:** autonomous level; autonomous technology; vehicles; road traffic; survey study
