James Hodgson
Research Director
Research Focus
James Hodgson, Research Director at ABI Research, conducts research related to the field of autonomous driving and smart mobility, with a focus primarily on quantitative forecasting and analysis in the areas of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), autonomous driving, and connected infotainment. James also writes reports on the transformative effect of automotive technologies on personal mobility and ecosystem dynamics.
Read More
Topics Covered
Electric Vehicles
Smart Mobility & Automotive
Insights
The Potential Winners and Losers Due to Relaxing Autonomous Driving Safety
Insight | 1Q 2025 | IN-7724
A Challenging 2025 for Automotive Demands Bold Choices From Automakers
Insight | 1Q 2025 | IN-7677
Agentic AI Is the Perfect Fit for Automotive
Insight | 4Q 2024 | IN-7593
What Does the Slowdown in the EV Transition Mean for the Software-Defined Vehicle?
Insight | 3Q 2024 | IN-7512
Volkswagen’s US$5 Billion Bet on Rivian Is a Sign of Things to Come in Automotive
Insight | 3Q 2024 | IN-7434
Addressing EV Charging Pain Points with Artificial Intelligence
Insight | 2Q 2024 | IN-7368
Mobileye’s Market-Ready Solutions Surge as Automotive OEMs Struggle to Digest “Open” Platforms
Insight | 2Q 2024 | IN-7300
General Motors Almost Doubles Super Cruise Coverage, but Unscalable Mapping Approaches Present a Looming Risk
Insight | 1Q 2024 | IN-7267
Intel Must Match Capability with Commitment to Conquer the Software-Defined Vehicle Market
Insight | 1Q 2024 | IN-7240
What Does the Launch of BMW’s Personal Pilot Tell Us about the Emerging Level 3 Autonomous Driving Market?
Insight | 4Q 2023 | IN-7153
What Must the Automotive Industry Do to Make Success of In-Car Advertising?
Insight | 4Q 2023 | IN-7127
Night-Time ADAS Testing: A Ray of Light for FIR Image Sensors in Automotive?
Insight | 3Q 2023 | IN-7086
Google is Starting to Act Like a Bona Fide Automotive Supplier, and it’s Paying Off
Insight | 1Q 2023 | IN-6863
Argo.ai Is a Canary in the Coal Mine for “Robotaxi or Bust”
Insight | 4Q 2022 | IN-6725
The Future of the Automotive E/E Architecture Is Mixed-Criticality Compute
Insight | 4Q 2022 | IN-6689
Building Resilience to Automotive Supply Chain Shortages with Software-Defined Vehicles
Insight | 3Q 2022 | IN-6633
GM Partners with Red Hat to Safely Keep Cars Up to Date and Making Money
Insight | 2Q 2022 | IN-6574
What Does the Abandoned ARM Acquisition Mean for NVIDIA’s Automotive Ambitions?
Insight | 1Q 2022 | IN-6448
BMW Partners with Qualcomm for ADAS and Autonomous Driving on Neue Klass EV Models
Insight | 4Q 2021 | IN-6371
Qualcomm Kicks Automotive Ambitions up a Gear with a US$4.6 Billion Veoneer Offer
Insight | 3Q 2021 | IN-6278
Ford-Google Partnership: Google Extends Its Automotive Reach Wider and Deeper
Insight | 1Q 2021 | IN-6099
Who Stands to Gain from the SAE Level 2+ Explosion, and Who Will Lose Out?
Insight | 1Q 2021 | IN-6072
What Happens to Shared Mobility When Consumers Shun Shared Spaces?
Insight | 4Q 2020 | IN-5969
Salvaging the MaaS Opportunity: Developing Robotaxis for Use in the City
Insight | 4Q 2020 | IN-5947
Mercedes-Benz Partners with NVIDIA to Enable Its Future Software-Defined Vehicle Architecture
Insight | 3Q 2020 | IN-5887
Hands Free Automation for the Masses – But What is the Value of SAE Level 2 +?
Insight | 2Q 2020 | IN-5767
Cinemo CARS™ Applications Bring Scope for Differentiation within Android Automotive
Insight | 1Q 2020 | IN-5685
Research
Autonomous Vehicle Sensors Market Data Overview: 1Q 2025
Presentation | 1Q 2025 | PT-2842
Autonomous Vehicle Sensors
Market Data | 1Q 2025 | MD-AVS-24
Autonomous Vehicles and Automotive Active Safety Systems Market Data Overview: 1Q 2025
Presentation | 1Q 2025 | PT-2786
Autonomous Vehicles
Market Data | 1Q 2025 | MD-AV-24
Automotive Active Safety Systems
Market Data | 1Q 2025 | MD-AASS-24
ADAS and Autonomous Vehicles, Semi-Annual Update: 1H 2025
Presentation | 1Q 2025 | PT-2843
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)
Market Data | 4Q 2024 | MD-V2X-104
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Market Data Overview: 2H 2024
Presentation | 4Q 2024 | PT-2839
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) and Cooperative Mobility
Presentation | 4Q 2024 | PT-2788
SDV Technology Partnerships: Crucial For Sustainable Technology Solutions
Whitepaper | 4Q 2024 | WP-215
Automotive HD Maps: Repurposing HD Map Content in Non-Autonomous Driving Applications
Report | 3Q 2024 | AN-5542
Replacing Automotive LiDAR with Imaging Radar
Report | 3Q 2024 | AN-5806
2-Wheel Vehicle Manufacturers
Competitive Ranking | 3Q 2024 | CA-1515
Vehicle and Mobility Services
Market Data | 3Q 2024 | MD-MOBI-110
Vehicle Shipments and Mobility Services Market Data Overview: 3Q 2024
Presentation | 3Q 2024 | PT-3254
Autonomous Vehicles, Sensors, and Automotive Active Safety Systems Market Data Overview: 2Q 2024
Presentation | 2Q 2024 | PT-2676
Automotive Active Safety Systems
Market Data | 2Q 2024 | MD-AASS-23
Autonomous Vehicles
Market Data | 2Q 2024 | MD-AV-23
Autonomous Vehicle Sensors
Market Data | 2Q 2024 | MD-AVS-23
Two-Wheel Vehicles Market Data Overview: 1Q 2024
Presentation | 1Q 2024 | PT-3133
Two-Wheel Vehicles
Market Data | 1Q 2024 | MD-2WV-23
Connected Services and Infotainment in Two-Wheel Vehicles
Report | 4Q 2023 | AN-5751
The Software-Driven Megatrends Shaping The Automotive Industry
Whitepaper | 4Q 2023 | WP-1022
Connected Car and Software-Defined Vehicle Semi-Annual Update: 2H 2023
Presentation | 3Q 2023 | PT-2592
V2X Market Semi-Annual Update: 2H 2023
Presentation | 3Q 2023 | PT-2675
Vehicle and Mobility Services
Market Data | 3Q 2023 | MD-MOBI-109
Integrating Driver Monitoring Systems
Whitepaper | 3Q 2023 | WP-1015
Connected Car
Market Data | 3Q 2023 | MD-CCAR-110
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)
Market Data | 3Q 2023 | MD-V2X-103
ADAS and Autonomous Driving
Market Data | 3Q 2023 | MD-ADAS-120
In-Cabin Sensing Technologies and Applications
Report | 2Q 2023 | AN-5748
Autonomous Vehicle Platforms
Competitive Ranking | 1Q 2023 | CA-1347
Vehicle and Mobility Services
Market Data | 1Q 2023 | MD-MOBI-108
ADAS and Autonomous Driving
Market Data | 4Q 2022 | MD-ADAS-119
Connected Car Semiannual Update: 2H 2022
Presentation | 4Q 2022 | PT-2591
Connected Car
Market Data | 4Q 2022 | MD-CCAR-109
Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Platforms
Report | 4Q 2022 | AN-5545
Automotive Maps for Intelligent Speed Assistance, ADAS, And Autonomous Driving
Report | 3Q 2022 | AN-5540
Vehicle and Mobility Services
Market Data | 3Q 2022 | MD-MOBI-107
ADAS and Autonomous Driving Market Data
Market Data | 2Q 2022 | MD-ADAS-118
Automotive Edge Cloud Applications
Report | 1Q 2022 | AN-5162
ADAS and Autonomous Driving: Semi-annual Update
Presentation | 1Q 2022 | PT-2431
Vehicle and Mobility Market Data
Market Data | 4Q 2021 | MD-MOBI-106
Automotive Semiconductor Shortages
Report | 4Q 2021 | AN-5525
Automotive Sensor Data Monetization
Report | 3Q 2021 | AN-5401
ADAS and Autonomous Driving Semi-Annual Update
Presentation | 2Q 2021 | PT-2430
ADAS and Autonomous Driving Market Data
Market Data | 2Q 2021 | MD-ADAS-117
Transformational Technology Summit: Rebuilding a Stronger Automotive Market
Presentation | 1Q 2021 | PT-2513
Next Generation Automotive Sensors
Report | 1Q 2021 | AN-5330
New Automotive Monetization Opportunities: Passenger Car Subscriptions and Installed Base Monetization
Report | 1Q 2021 | AN-5428
Vehicle and Mobility Market Data
Market Data | 3Q 2020 | MD-MOBI-105
ADAS and Autonomous Driving Semi-Annual Update
Presentation | 3Q 2020 | PT-2388
ADAS and Autonomous Driving Market Data
Market Data | 3Q 2020 | MD-ADAS-116
COVID-19: Impact on Smart Mobility and Automotive
Whitepaper | 1Q 2020 | WP-WNGH-171
James Hodgson In The News
Google Maps is turning 20 — it’s mapping three more countries and adding AI capabilities
CNBC (2025-01-18)
“The use of these navigation apps, whether embedded or on smartphone devices, is almost universal,” said James Hodgson, who covers automotive for ABI Research.Hodgson said that one problem currently is that the technology is targeted on a user-by-user basis. To improve efficiency, he said, “we are...
Citation
Big challenges await Minneapolis' would-be replacements for Uber and Lyft
Axios Twin Cities (2024-04-2)
Replicating 'the network effect.' Uber and Lyft connect huge pools of riders with huge pools of drivers. Upstart rideshare companies have historically struggled to retain drivers without the same ability to guarantee work for them, said ABI Research analyst James Hodgson.
Citation
New cars are now ‘the worst’ products when it comes to protecting consumer data
CNBC (2024-03-23)
To be sure, there can be valid reasons to collect driver and car data for safety and functionality purposes, and some essential services, such as emergency and security-related data sharing, may be difficult or impossible to opt out of. Predictive maintenance is among the reasons for more data...
Citation
Tech Convergence Will Spur Demand for New ADAS Technology
Assembly (2024-03-18)
According to ABI Research, 69 percent of all new passenger vehicles will have an SAE driving automation level of 2+ or higher by the end of this decade. The technology will enable people to drive more safely, take on specific tasks on the driver’s behalf or ultimately replace drivers through the...
Citation
With Uber and Lyft threatening to leave Minneapolis, these upstart rideshare companies want in
Axios (2024-03-14)
Globally, alternative ride-hailers have struggled to differentiate themselves from Uber and Lyft, said James Hodgson of the global tech intelligence firm ABI Research. Pre-COVID, some companies tried undercutting Uber or Lyft's prices or paying drivers extra. Hodgson said these "land grabs" proved...
Citation
Researchers predict more autonomous vehicles by 2030, better ADAS tech needed
Repairer Driven News (2024-02-7)
ABI’s latest research paper, “A Scalable Approach to ADAS and Autonomous Driving,” states that 69.3% will be so equipped. “Different autonomous applications vary in features and the level of driver involvement,” said James Hodgson, ABI Research smart mobility and automotive research director and...
Citation
Connected Cars Know the Word on the Street
Futuretransport-News (2023-10-9)
In his keynote session entitled, ‘V2X in 2023: Progress, Challenges and Recommendations,’ James Hodgson, Research Director at ABI Research, acknowledged that although Volkswagen took the lead in equipping volume models such as the Golf with the IEEE 802.11p standard to enable wireless communication...
Citation
Driverless cars stalled on Phoenix area roadways aren't malfunctioning. That's how they're designed
AZ Central (2023-04-29)
“Causing a traffic jam will land you in the press, causing injury (or) death will land you in court,” James Hodgson, principal analyst with ABI Research who studies the autonomous vehicle industry, said in an email. Hodgson said once the confidence in a situation falls below the acceptable...
Citation
Challenges abound on path to global zero emission goals: ABI Research
Canadian Auto Dealer (2023-03-13)
To help governments and industry in achieving these goals, ABI Research has launched a new Electric Vehicle research service to provide automotive industry players, innovators, and suppliers with actionable research and strategic guidance to tap into this rapidly expanding industry.
Citation
Autonomous vehicles to usher in new era of digital maps
Smart Cities World (2022-08-8)
Applications like lane centring, localisation, and location-enriched sensor fusion will see automotive digital maps expand out of the infotainment domain, creating a new “sustained market opportunity” for digital map suppliers in the automotive industry, ABI reports. “The uptake of digital maps...
Citation
ABI sees a new path for digital maps’ use in vehicles
Enterprise IoT Insights (2022-08-8)
The report also forecasts that over 47 million vehicles in circulation by 2027 will rely on digital maps to underpin active safety or autonomous driving applications. The report noted that digital maps are moving out of “infotainment” into uses including lane centering, localization and...
Citation
Next Generation of Maps for ADAS, Autonomous Vehicles Coming
The Detroit Bureau (2022-08-4)
The uptake of digital maps outside of navigation and route guidance has been limited to date, so the European ISA mandate is an important catalyst for the location intelligence industry,” said James Hodgson, Smart Mobility & Automotive Principal Analyst at ABI Research.
Citation
Connected vehicles are a smart opportunity for mobility data
Automotive News (2022-07-7)
Article by James Hodgson
Citation
Big Tech’s Next Monopoly Game: Building the Car of the Future
Politico (2021-12-27)
The technology in a new car today is already years out of date when it arrives at the dealer’s lot, said James Hodgson, an autonomous vehicles analyst with ABI Research, while the pace of connectivity — and consumers’ desires for favorite devices — moves much faster
Citation
This is the future of driving
Readers Digest (2021-11-8)
James Hodgson, industry analyst at ABI Research, argues that driver-monitoring technology will eventually become as common as seat belts. “Their growth will be very much tied to the growth of semi-autonomous vehicles,” he explains. James estimates that by 2026, there will be around 17.5m...
Citation
The Boston Globe: ‘Why should somebody deliver your Chipotle in a 4,000-pound vehicle?’: This electric car is sparking excitement
The Boston Globe (2021-08-30)
James Hodgson, principal analyst for smart transportation at ABI Research, warned that beginning a new car company from scratch is “phenomenally difficult.” “There’s a good reason we’ve had more or less the same automotive brands for the past hundred years,” he said.
Citation
The Telegraph: China’s Tesla killer: Nio leads battery switching charge
The Telegraph (2021-01-9)
James Hodgson, leading smart mobility research at ABI Research, argues that the geography of a market is crucial context when debating the merits of the technology. In the UK and Europe, range anxiety is an “irrational” consumer worry that has been sensationalised in the first place, he says. “The...
Citation
Assembly Magazine: 2021 May Be the Year EVs Go ‘Mainstream’
Assembly Magazine (2021-01-6)
OYSTER BAY, NY—After years of hype and hoopla, 2021 may finally be the year that electric vehicles go mainstream. According to a recent report by ABI Research, the year ahead will kickstart a decade of growing EV adoption. The tech market advisory firm predicts that EV sales will “move from a...
Citation
Forbes: Where Are The Affordable Cars Required To Accelerate Europe’s Electric Revolution?
Forbes (2021-01-5)
“This transition from niche to mainstream will be built on the introduction of low-cost EV (electric vehicle) models that satisfy the typical mileage requirements at an acceptable price point.” said James Hodgson, analyst at ABI Research of Oyster Bay, New York, in a report. “As EV owners shift from...
Citation
CNet: The electric car's future starts this year, research report says
CNet (2021-01-4)
Starting in 2021, ABI Research said EVs will start to gain traction in the market, largely driven by more affordable models scheduled to start rolling into dealerships throughout this year. By the end of this decade, EVs may make up a quarter of all new vehicles shipped. If the trajectory pans out,...
Citation
Tech Channel: Adoption of electric vehicles to move from niche to mainstream this year
Tech Channel (2021-01-1)
As EV owners shift from the legacy of environmentally conscious, James Hodgson, Principal Analyst for Smart Mobility and Automotive at ABI Research, said that enthusiastic technology first adopters to more typical automotive consumers and OEMs will need to develop more innovative approaches to the...
Citation
Traffic Technology Today: Covid-19: Ride hailing trips dropped 59% in first half of 2020
Traffic Technology Today (2020-12-29)
The first half of 2020 saw a dramatic drop in demand for personal mobility, as lockdown measures introduced by governments around the world dramatically affected the types and frequency of journeys made, according to new figures released by ABI Research. Following robust growth of 14% in 2019, the...
Citation
TU Automotive: Automotive cyber-security hardware remains a relatively small market and a missing piece in the vehicle protection.
TU Automotive (2020-09-21)
It explains why dedicated security hardware is welcomed by premium automakers with their softer cost limits while it’s not easily coming down to the mass market. “Most OEMs and suppliers I was engaged with were generally happy with software-based solutions,” says James Hodgson, principal analyst at...
Citation
IEEE Power Electronics: Electric Vehicle Batteries - Entering the Solid-State Era
IEEE Power Electronics (2020-03-6)
The ongoing improvements in battery technologies will pave the way for an #EV installed base of 100 million #vehicles by 2028, J
Citation
NPR Marketplace: Uber’s market share unlikely to be hurt by safety report
NPR Marketplace (2019-12-6)
“Trying to demonstrate and put out an argument that says, ‘Look, actually, when you look at the figures, we are very safe service that you can use relative to other alternatives,’” Hodgson said. But there isn’t a lot of data available to make that kind of comparison. Uber now has the information to...
Citation
Entrepreneur: What's Driving Grab and Gojek's Superapp Success
Entrepreneur (2019-10-8)
In 2018, nearly 22 billion ridehailing trips were completed worldwide, and in 2019, that number is expected to be 28 billion, according to global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research. “Considering Indonesia alone accounts for 40 percent of Southeast Asia’s GDP, Grab’s offering of GrabExpress,...
Citation
CNBC Indonesia: Wow! Being a Super App, Grab Controls the Indonesian & Vietnamese Ojol Market
CNBC Indonesia (2019-09-18)
In its research, ABI Research revealed that Grab controls 11.4% of the Asia Pacific ride hailing market with dominance in the Indonesian and Vietnamese markets. This is the second research released by ABI Research after 2018. "The growth of online transportation has slowed. After reaching 22 billion...
Citation
Industry Week: Next Gen Batteries to Power Up Electric Vehicle Installed Base to 100 Million by 2028
Industry Week (2019-08-12)
"Range anxiety” continues to be the biggest barrier to the largescale adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs). However, ongoing and significant improvements in battery technology will pave the way for an installed EV base of 100 million by 2028, according to global tech market advisory firm, ABI...
Citation
Inverse: Tesla's Full Self-Driving Will Lead to Huge Price Jumps, Elon Musk Says
Inverse (2019-07-8)
“The idea of an appreciating asset: Cars are no longer sold to passengers and owned by them, but vehicles might become monetizable assets in which people pay for access to cars to consume mobility as a service as opposed to owning vehicles,” James Hodgson, a senior analyst at ABI Research, told...
Citation
Monetizing sensor data requires new thinking
Automotive News (2019-05-27)
As the transportation industry becomes more dependent on the use of data from connected-vehicle sensors, there's a growing interest in the future business opportunities in the sector. To gain more insight on those opportunities, Special Correspondent Marcus Amick talked with James Hodgson, principal...
Citation
Inverse: A $250K Tesla? Three Factors That Support Elon Musk's Spectacular Claim
Inverse (2019-05-3)
“No one has quite articulated the problem and opportunity as well as Musk,” James Hodgson, a senior analyst at ABI Research focused on autonomy, tells Inverse. “The idea of an appreciating asset: Cars are no longer sold to passengers and owned by them, but vehicles might become monetizable assets in...
Citation
The Chicago crew that is making BMW's autonomous cars possible
Crain's Chicago Business (2018-03-30)
Here is just one of a handful of players, along with TomTom and Google, that have the mapping resources required for driverless vehicles. "You can't have a fully autonomous system without it," says James Hodgson, a senior analyst based in the U.K. at ABI Research. "They demonstrated and convinced...
Citation