The test will involve six autonomous autos, starting with the modified Audi Q5 the supplier used last year to travel from San Francisco to New York in self-driving mode.

In Singapore, the cars initially will follow three predetermined routes and by 2019, will range freely based on customer requests, without a driver or a human minder.

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority chose Delphi for the test as the city, like congested urban areas globally, looks to driverless vehicles to address growing gridlock. It asked Delphi to provide robot rides to get commuters to mass-transit stations so fewer cabs will be clogging the roads, said Glen DeVos, a Delphi senior vice-president said.

Automakers are pouring money into developing autonomous cars as more than nine billion people are expected to move to megacities over the next 25 years. Self-driving cars moving in harmony are expected to eventually ease congestion and make roads safer.

“Singapore is a small island and right now for the individual to get to the mass-transit systems, it’s not easy,” Mr DeVos said. He said that the city is hoping to lead the world in addressing urban congestion.

The manufacturer has plans to announce similar pilot programmes in the US and Europe later this year.

On the Singapore project, Delphi will work with several technology partners, which the company has not named. In 2018, Delphi will begin running tests without the driver, which will lead to removing the human minder entirely by 2019.