By 2036, many cars may steer and manage speed in more situations, some cities may have expanded driverless ride services, and vehicle-integrated solar cells may add useful energy in the right conditions. But a typical car that drives itself everywhere, runs mainly on its own solar panels, and communicates seamlessly with every other vehicle is not a safe bet. The more plausible future is a mix: driver-supervised assistance for many owners, limited driverless operation in defined places, and connectivity and solar features whose usefulness depends on deployment and conditions.
Will cars drive themselves in 10 years?
Some vehicles will likely handle more driving tasks, but “self-driving” covers systems with very different responsibilities. The key question is whether a person must supervise and be ready to take control.
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Driver assistance will be more common than driverless personal cars
The International Energy Agency reported in 2026 that around half of new cars sold worldwide in 2025 had Level 2 automation capable of controlling both steering and speed. Ten years earlier, the share was less than 1%. Level 2 systems can combine features such as adaptive cruise control and lane keeping, but the driver must remain attentive and ready to intervene. More advanced Level 2+ systems do not remove that responsibility.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →That distinction matters: steering and speed control can make a drive less demanding without making the car autonomous. A vehicle that requires a person to monitor the road is not a driverless car, even if it can manage much of a highway trip.
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Driverless operation is likely to remain limited by place and conditions
The IEA reported that commercial Level 4 electric robotaxis were operating in more than 20 cities. Its 2025 estimate put the fleet at about 8,000 vehicles across around 20 cities, with services concentrated in China and the United States; Dubai and Abu Dhabi also had services, while testing had begun in Europe, Japan and Korea. These are fleet services in specific operating areas, not evidence that privately owned cars can drive themselves anywhere.
Level 4 automation means the system can drive without a human taking over within its defined operating conditions. A service may therefore be driverless in its approved area while being unable to operate outside it. The IEA says the cost competitiveness of robotaxis against private car ownership remains uncertain and that broader effects beyond ride-hailing are unlikely before 2035. That is an outlook, not a guarantee that robotaxis will dominate by 2036.
Level 5—the idea of a vehicle that can drive without a human driver in all conditions where a person could drive—is not currently in sight, according to the IEA. A decade from now, expect variation by country, city, road type and vehicle rather than one universal capability.
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Could cars run on solar power?
For most plausible designs, onboard solar is better understood as a supplement than as a complete replacement for charging or fuel. How much it contributes depends on the area and design of the integrated solar cells, local climate, shade, parking, and how and where the car is used.
What a vehicle-integrated solar study found
A 2022 study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) modeled vehicle-integrated photovoltaics—solar cells incorporated into the vehicle—for a commuter car and a light delivery van. It examined typical daily-use profiles in six climate regions over ten years. In the best modeled case, solar generation covered up to 35% of annual driving range. Across the modeled climates and uses, the annual contribution ranged from 1,800 to 5,100 km.
Those figures describe modeled outcomes, not a guaranteed range for an owner or a typical result for every solar-equipped car. The 35% figure is the study’s best case. The spread in annual contribution illustrates why a single headline range can mislead: local sunlight and vehicle use change the result substantially. The study also found that grid electricity needed for identical routes could vary by more than 44% between the climate regions it assessed.
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The JRC noted that there is no consensus consumer method for estimating what fraction of annual driving an onboard solar system will supply. A meaningful label would need to account for climate conditions, rather than presenting one universal number.
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Charging with solar is a different pathway
A car does not have to carry solar panels to use solar electricity. An electric vehicle can be charged using electricity generated by rooftop or other grid-connected solar installations. NREL’s report record identifies managed and coordinated EV charging as a high near-term priority for using photovoltaic electricity in transport; it also describes this as foundational to longer-term vehicle-to-grid capability. Vehicle-to-grid refers to the possibility of sending electricity from a vehicle’s battery back to the grid, rather than only charging the car. That infrastructure-based approach is distinct from a car generating all its own power.
Will cars talk to each other?
Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and connected-vehicle systems can send data to support specific safety applications. The useful question is not whether cars will “talk” in general, but which vehicles share which information, for what purpose, and with what limitations.
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Messages can support targeted warnings
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) technical materials describe V2V research for applications including forward-collision warning, intersection movement assist, and blind-spot or lane-change warning. These systems are designed to give drivers or vehicle systems additional information about a particular hazard. They do not replace onboard cameras, radar or other sensors, and they should not be treated as a guarantee that a vehicle can detect every nearby road user.
Communication does not mean perfect awareness
Performance depends on the application and the equipment. In a NHTSA evaluation involving a commercial-vehicle blind-spot and lane-change prototype, the system could track potential threats but sometimes failed to identify a vehicle in its estimated warning zone because of lateral-range estimation error. The example shows why a connected warning is a safety aid, not an infallible picture of the road.
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What could slow or shape these changes?
Vehicle capability is only one part of the transition. Deployment also depends on safety rules, validation, operating geography, infrastructure, economics and public acceptance. A feature that works in a limited service area may not be suitable for every road, climate or privately owned vehicle.
Rules and vehicle design have to keep pace
In a December 2025 release, NHTSA said its multi-year, multi-phase research considered how 81 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards apply to innovative automated-vehicle designs and would inform modernization efforts. That work is a U.S. regulatory example, not a global rulebook or a forecast of when a particular system will be approved. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in the release, “The future of automated vehicles is right around the corner.” That was Morrison’s characterization, not a measured timetable for widespread driverless driving.
Energy and connectivity depend on the surrounding system
Solar generation depends on exposure and use; renewable-powered charging depends on electricity supply and charging arrangements. Connected safety features depend on vehicles and infrastructure being able to exchange useful information reliably and securely. Those dependencies mean adoption can differ sharply between regions and even between two drivers in the same market.
A realistic picture of a 2036 car
A plausible 2036 vehicle might offer stronger driver assistance than today’s typical car, including more capable steering and speed control, while still requiring a person to supervise. In some cities, a driverless ride-hailing vehicle may operate within a defined service area. Solar cells built into certain vehicle designs could add energy, with the contribution varying by climate and routine. Connected messages may provide extra warnings for particular hazards where the necessary vehicles and systems are in place.
That is a set of directions, not a promise that every car will have all of them. The available evidence does not establish which models, prices, adoption shares or legal requirements will prevail globally in 2036. Nor does it show that typical cars will be Level 4 or Level 5, fully solar-powered, or continuously connected to every other vehicle. The most useful expectation is uneven progress: more assistance for many drivers, more bounded driverless services in selected places, and solar and communication features whose value depends on where and how they are used.
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