South Australian Premier Jay Driverless car says South Australia could use its automotive expertise to start making driverless cars in years to come.
As Channel 9 reports, speaking at the opening of the International Driverless Cars conference in Adelaide on Thursday, Weatherill said driverless car manufacturing will become a $90 billion global industry within 15 years and South Australia should be part of it.
"Cars are integral to the state's DNA, our history and identity," Weatherill said.
"The Holden production plant will soon close its doors in Elizabeth.
"But (that doesn't) mean we've lost our expertise, our capability or our appetite to be a player in the car industry.
"We see our history as a foundation on which we can be involved in the technology, testing, perhaps even the manufacturing again of driverless cars."
As Indaily reports, Weatherill also pointed to the improved safety that driverless cars will bring.
“We have an average of 100 fatalities and 700 serious injuries on our roads on each year,” he said.
“Advancing towards driverless vehicles … will allow us to significantly reduce this toll.”
South Australia Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan told reporters at the conference the Torrens-to-Torrens, Darlington and Northern Connector roads will be ‘hard-wired’ to cater for future driverless cars.
In addition, a driverless car will be tested on Adelaide's South Expressway this weekend. This is the first such test to be undertaken in the southern hemisphere.