An acceptance divergence? Media, citizens and policy perspectives on autonomous cars in the European Union

•There is a divergence on connected and automated vehicles views of European citizens and media when compared to policymakers.•Negative sentiments are prevalent in the media, with most citizens wary of automated vehicles.•The political narrative mostly carries a positive tone.•All actors should be engaged to be able to achieve the benefits of adopting automated vehicles.•Citizen engagement initiatives are encouraged as a means of involving stakeholders in the policymaking process. Do citizens, media and policymakers share the same view on autonomous cars? In the present paper, we analyse data from media articles, a Eurobarometer survey, and policy documents, to understand the perspective of different stakeholders when it comes to autonomous cars. We find significant differences between the groups, with a predominance of negative sentiments in news articles and a majority of citizens being wary of autonomous cars, while the political narrative mostly carries a positive tone. The findings highlight a dichotomous perspective about this potentially disruptive technology. This may represent a problem as the benefits of adopting autonomous cars will only come to surface if all actors are engaged and see the advantages they can bring to people’s daily lives. We conclude by encouraging policymakers to promote initiatives to engage citizens in the transformation of road transport and other stakeholders to be advertised the positive implications of autonomous vehicles.