• New automated vehicle trial to be hosted in Perth
• Western Australia well-placed to harness future job opportunities
• State Government working with industry to drive innovation

Perth is one of three cities in the world to be chosen to host a trial of a new type of electric-powered autonomous vehicles.

Run by RAC WA in partnership with the State Government, the trial will involve several vehicles called Autonoms produced by French company NAVYA.

The vehicles are expected to arrive in Perth in April 2018 and will be trialled in a closed and controlled environment.

The State Government and the RAC will be working together to explore potential locations for the initial trial, and potentially for a limited on-road public trial with a trained chaperone as part of future stages.

While the private sector is developing driverless cars, one of the roles of government is to ensure that it is undertaken safely. The future benefits of driverless vehicles include increased efficiency, safety and reduced costs in road transportation.

There are also job creation opportunities attached to the autonomous vehicle industry.

The State Government continues to actively work with the private sector to enable a number of automated vehicle trials including the RAC's staged trial of a driverless, fully electric shuttle bus on Perth roads and Curtin University's trial automated bus on campus.