TRL’s academy director, Richard Cuerden, said: “TRL welcomes the continued investment and commitment towards autonomous vehicles and electrification proposed in the Chancellor’s Budget.

“Autonomous and electric vehicles will form the backbone of future mobility in the UK and, if integrated successfully, will prevent thousands of road casualties and significantly reduce air pollution and congestion.

“Much research and development is required before fully-driverless vehicles become commonplace on our roads, but the measures announced today will help bring this vision a significant step closer and position the UK alongside other leading nations who are at the forefront of the electric and autonomous vehicle revolution.

“With the support of the UK government and the development of innovative test beds, such as the Smart Mobility Living Lab: London, we are confident that we will be helping vehicle manufacturers and mobility service providers to test fully-driverless cars and vehicles on British roads in 2019, with commercial products being available by 2021.

“The first vehicles may be limited to certain roads and environments, such as motorways or pre-determined routes within cities, but the rate of progress could surprise many in the industry."