Acceptance of automated vehicles: Gender effects, but lack of meaningful association with desire for control in Germany and in the U.S.

•Questionnaire study on acceptance of automated vehicles (AVs) and desire for control.•Study 1 in Germany (N = 114), Study 2 in the U.S. (N = 601).•No association between acceptance of AVs and desire for control in Study 1 and 2.•Extracted items, factor analyses: No association in Study 2, weak positive in Study 1.•Women report less acceptance of AVs and less desire for control than men.