These 5 companies are leading the driverless car race

YouTube/ RushLane

Brad Templeton has been involved with self-driving cars since the early days.

He's a consultant on Google's driverless car project and frequently lectures on automated transportation. Tech Insider sat down with Templeton to talk what companies are leading the driverless car race at Exponential Finance, a two-day conference on AI and robotics sponsored by CNBC and Silicon Valley think-tank Singularity University.

Here's Templeton's take on the 5 companies leading the way:

Google

OK, it's a bit obvious Templeton would choose Google considering his relationship with the company. But it would seem odd not to include Google on the list anyway, considering the tech giant's fleet has collected over 1.5 million autonomous miles.

"And that's not just highways, but regular roads too," he told Tech Insider. "That's more than everyone else put together."

Daimler

Templeton said it very succinctly: "Daimler is very high up, by the way."

And it makes sense. The Mercedes-Benz big-rig made history last year for driving itself on a public road. And the Mercedes 2017 E-Class (above) is loaded with semi-autonomous functions, like active lane change assist and the ability to drive autonomously on highways at speeds reaching 130 miles per hour.

Volvo

Templeton said after Daimler, Volvo was a close follow-up. Not many people think of Volvo when it comes to technologically innovative cars, but it's quietly becoming a major contender in the autonomous vehicle space. 

The Swedish company will release Pilot Assist II next year, allowing its new vehicle to do all the steering and braking at 80 miles per hour. The automaker is also launching several driverless pilot programs in different cities in 2017.