Despite the skepticism of many people in Germany, the German automotive industry is leading the way in the development of autonomous cars, according to a study. German companies are particularly innovative, according to a study by the Institute of the German Economy (IW) in Cologne, which is close to employers. According to the study, 52% of the patents registered worldwide for autonomous driving were held by German manufacturers.

Six companies from Germany were among the top 10 - four of them manufacturers and two suppliers. In contrast, US challengers such as Tesla and Apple have not yet played a role in the patents, but Google has. German car manufacturers have often been criticized for allegedly missing out on new trends. One example of this was alternative drive systems.

In addition to car manufacturers and major suppliers such as Bosch and Continental, tech companies such as Google are also working on systems for autonomous driving, but according to the study, they only account for almost 7% of patents. More than 5,800 of a total of over 9,000 patents on autonomous driving since 2010 were recorded, more than half of which were held by manufacturers and almost a third by established suppliers. These patents also relate to camera and radar systems, for example.

With 338 patents since 2010, Google landed in tenth place, with Bosch leading the field with 958 patents ahead of Audi (516) and Continental (439), according to the study. BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler are also among the top 10 patent applications for autonomous driving, as are Ford, GM and Toyota. Among car manufacturers, German companies accounted for almost 47% of global patents, while the German share among suppliers was as high as 76%.

However, the German automotive industry should not rest on its laurels, warned study author Hubertus Bardt. The number of patents has increased by 60% since the end of 2015, and the lead of German manufacturers is under attack. The concern is that one of the software giants is gaining a lead that can no longer be overtaken, said Bardt.

The expert argued that the competition for autonomous or semi-autonomous driving would not just begin with self-driving robot cars, but with assistance systems that are already available today in some cases. He explained the good starting position of German manufacturers in the competition for autonomous cars with the high premium share, for example. Customers of luxury and premium cars are therefore also likely to be "willing to pay" for assistance systems and autonomous driving.

At the same time, car buyers in Germany are rather skeptical about self-driving cars. According to a recent survey by the Aral petrol station chain, only one in five respondents could imagine having their car drive itself in the future.