A new report on public attitudes in Europe about the use of artificial intelligence in vehicles has revealed that drivers have a high familiarity with AI and frequently use AI-enabled ADAS features but that they are reluctant to give full control of the vehicle to autonomous systems – and that drivers in the UK are the msot skeptical of full autonomy.
Chinese auto maker Xpeng commissioned independent research agency Improof Research to conduct a quantitative study of public attitudes toward artificial intelligence and physical AI across six European countries, alongside a reference sample from major Chinese cities. The survey fieldwork was carried out between May 1 and 14, 2026. Drawing from the study’s findings, Xpeng says that verified safety and transparency will be important factors in building public confidence in autonomous driving technologies.
The findings
The world increasingly lives with artificial intelligence every day. Yet, for Europeans, the moment AI moves from screens into the physical world and begins making decisions in real life, public trust sharply breaks down.
While 82% of Europeans say they understand AI, just 21% feel comfortable with physical AI in general and only 13% would step into a fully self-driving car today, compared with 70% in China.
The study found that Europeans accept AI when it augments human judgment and remains explainable and interruptible. Acceptance falls when AI is positioned as an inscrutable decider. Measurable sustainability gains and transparent safety governance are decisive levers for public confidence.
Assistance accepted, autonomy resisted
Between 42 and 53% of European respondents said they felt comfortable with driver‑assist features such as adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition and lane‑keeping. Comfort collapsed when AI was framed as taking over driving or making emergency decisions; in cars overall, 53% expressed little or no trust in AI.
Familiarity without comfort
Europeans also reported strong AI familiarity (82%) but low comfort with physical AI (21%), and many that said that they rarely or never use physical AI did also say that they rely on AI-enabled features in their vehicles, revealing a recognition and framing gap.
Sustainability moves opinion
More than half (57%) of Europeans said credible proof that AI mobility improves sustainability would make them more positive , compared with 90% of respondents in China. The current belief that AI mobility increases safety or sustainability sits at around one in four.
Europe is not one market
Spain is comparatively open – 63% reported trust in AI in cars and 32% said they were comfortable with physical AI – while the UK and Sweden are more cautious, with 34% and 32% reporting trust in AI in cars, respectively. Germans were notably modest about national AI leadership, with 59% stating that they believe that Germany is behind other countries in AI adoption.
Trust is the bottleneck
More than half of Europeans (54%) reported that they have some confidence that large technology and mobility companies act in consumers’ interests, which is far below China (94%). The leading fear is loss of human control over machines (61%), outweighing concerns about job losses (46%).
The data highlights that Europe’s barrier is not the availability of advanced features but the social license to deploy them, the report said.
Europe versus China context
Both regions report high familiarity with AI, but the pathways diverge. Chinese respondents reporeted broader cross‑sector trust ( ≈85%-94%), frequent use of physical AI (78% often/very often) and much higher comfort with full autonomy (70%). Europe’s cautious stance underscores the importance of human‑centric design, clear guardrails and independently verified impact.
Sustainability and trust
For European audiences, sustainability acts as a permission architecture for AI in mobility. When emissions reductions and traffic‑flow improvements are seen and independently validated, a majority indicated that they would shift more positively. Publishing verifiable data emerges as a prerequisite for wider acceptance.
Dr Brian Gu, vice chairman and president of Xpeng, said, “Physical AI has the potential to transform how people move, live and interact with technology. But this research shows that capability alone will not drive adoption – trust will.
“Trust is built when technology is safe, transparent and designed around real human needs. Europe has some of the highest expectations for safety, transparency and accountability, and that makes it one of the most important places for the future of AI mobility. If we can earn trust in Europe, we can help establish a stronger global benchmark for responsible innovation.”
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