Europe's slower rate of adoption might help build trust in the technology among users.
"The people need to have the power to decide what technology to adopt, which provider to choose, which data to share, with whom," said Matthias Schubert, who is executive vice president of mobility at automotive testing specialist TÜV Rheinland. "That makes the European approach much more complicated, I agree, but probably also much more sustainable because it will make people jump on the train proactively."
The panel agreed that trust is key.
"The security and safety of the passengers and the public is absolutely No. 1," Hyundai's Van Nuffel said.
Kollmorgen, however, cited studies showing that riders very quickly trust autonomous technology, perhaps too quickly.
"The trust barrier is going to drop when we start providing a huge level of convenience," she said.
Testing, especially in simulation, was therefore crucial.
"There's a huge role for simulation in the space to help bridge that technology gap. It's going to be one of the core enabling technologies," Kollmorgen said.
It's also important that the technology is safe over the lifetime of the vehicle, not just on Day One, TUV Rheinland's Schubert added.
There are no shortcuts, Bain's Kalmbach said.
"All bypass attempts will lead in the wrong direction and put the entire industry in a bad light," he said. "I see the autopilot discussion as critical and difficult. We are not ready yet, and we should not demonstrate with claims from various carmakers that we are able to drive autonomously."