There are a few other tech-related budget measures, such as £160 million ($211 million) for 5G networks, £100 million for computer science teachers, £76 million ($100 million) for skill development and £75 million ($99 million) for the UK's budding AI industry. The budget contributions may be necessary given the UK's ambitious goals. Finance minister Philip Hammond wants self-driving cars to roam British streets in 3 years -- that's not a lot of lead time when companies like Nissan only recently started conducting public tests. And while EV funding isn't new (that was present in the Spring Budget, for instance), but the additional money could help create the infrastructure needed to keep autonomous vehicles running. There's no guarantee that any of these measures will put the UK ahead of the curve on driverless tech, but it should at least keep the nation from falling behind.
UK Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to announce measures promoting the development of driverless and electric vehicles in this week's budget statement to the House of Commons. The measures are likely to include rule changes allowing manufacturers to test autonomous vehicles on public roads without a backup human driver. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hammond said he would be "delighted" if Britain could become "the first country outside Silicon Valley or New York City where you can get into your will be set aside for incentives to buy electric vehicles, while a £400m ($529m) fund will support new charging stations.