AUTOMOBILE CLUB D ITALIA

Their core work

ACI is Italy's national automobile club, representing millions of Italian motorists and serving as a public authority on road transport, mobility services, and driver safety. In H2020, ACI contributes real-world expertise on driver behavior, public acceptance of new vehicle technologies, and intelligent transport systems (ITS) deployment across Italy. Their role centers on bridging the gap between automotive technology development and actual road users — providing access to driver communities, mobility data, and national-scale testing environments for connected and autonomous driving initiatives.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ACI's H2020 trajectory shows a clear shift from transport monitoring toward active participation in the autonomous driving transition. Their early work (2015-2017) focused on observing and benchmarking intelligent transport systems through the ITS Observatory. From 2019 onward, they moved decisively into connected and autonomous vehicles — first studying public acceptance (PAsCAL) and green vehicle metrics (GVI), then joining large-scale cross-border automated driving pilots (Hi-Drive).

ACI is positioning itself as a key voice for the driver/citizen perspective in Europe's autonomous mobility transition, making them increasingly relevant for projects needing real-world user acceptance data and national road network access.

How they like to work

ACI consistently joins as a participant or third party in large consortia — never leading projects, but contributing domain-specific expertise on driver behavior and national road infrastructure. With 92 unique partners across just 4 projects, they operate in very large consortia (Hi-Drive alone is a massive cross-border effort), indicating comfort working within complex multi-partner structures. Their value lies not in technical R&D leadership but in providing access to Italy's motorist community and real-world driving conditions.

Despite only 4 projects, ACI has collaborated with 92 partners across 20 countries, reflecting participation in large pan-European transport consortia. Their network spans most EU member states with a natural concentration in Western European automotive and transport research hubs.

What sets them apart

ACI represents a rare asset in EU transport projects: a national automobile club with direct access to millions of Italian drivers and deep institutional knowledge of road infrastructure and mobility policy. Unlike universities or tech companies, ACI brings the end-user perspective — real driver behavior data, public opinion on vehicle technologies, and legitimacy when communicating with citizens about autonomous mobility. For any consortium needing Italian road network access or large-scale driver engagement, ACI is a natural and credible partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PAsCAL
  Largest funded project (EUR 506K) — directly addressed the critical question of public acceptance of autonomous vehicles, a key barrier to deployment.
• Hi-Drive
  Major cross-border connected automated driving pilot involving large-scale real-world demonstrations — one of Europe's flagship autonomous driving projects.