The Government is to launch a £30 million competition next month that will see companies research and develop “innovative connected autonomous-vehicle technologies”.

The money, which will come from the Intelligent Mobility Fund, is on top of £20 million awarded to eight projects back in February, as well as the £19 million granted to driverless car projects in Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry.

Announcing the competition, then Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Driverless car technology will revolutionise the way we travel and deliver better journeys.

“Our roads are already some of the safest in the world; increasing advanced driver-assist and driverless technologies has the potential to cut the number of accidents even further.”

In addition to the latest financial pledge, the Government is announcing a consultation on how automated cars should be used on British roads. New measures are already being put in place so that they can be insured for road use, and the Highway Code is being altered to take account of advanced systems that allow cars to change lanes on motorways by themselves and be parked by remote control.

Cars with advanced features such as remote-control parking and motorway-assist are expected to go on sale in the UK in the next two to four years, with automated and driverless vehicles expected on the roads in the mid-2020s.