Following an invitation of the Commission, industry representatives and public authorities have today agreed on a shared vision for the coordinated deployment of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) in Europe. This is an important step towards connected cars as C-ITS enable vehicles to communicate with each other and with the infrastructure. This can notably improve road safety and reduce congestion.

The report will also ensure that through C-ITS road transport can reap all the benefits from digitisation and contribute to President Juncker‘s ambition of creating a Single Digital Market.

EU Commissioner for transport Violeta Bulc said: “Digitisation of transport is a priority of my mandate as it has the potential to create new growth and smarter mobility. I want to see connected cars on European roads by 2019 and today’s report is an important milestone towards that objective. It is nevertheless only a first step, more deliverables will come throughout 2016.”

The report concludes that C-ITS could yield up to 3 Euros in societal benefits for every Euro invested and gives concrete recommendations to address issues such as digital security and data privacy.