The expectations of potential users of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) reveal howusers conceptualize the technology, how they expect it to serve them and what they need from the service. Previous studies of CAVs have concentrated research on user adoption, willingness to use, pay, and future challenges of the technology. However, a few studies have explored the expectations of potentialusers of CAVs. The knowledge of the expectations of potential users is essential for service designers to understand the needs of each category of users to enhance user-level satisfaction and prioritize different alternatives for service improvements. Through a qualitative and explorative study of potential users inSweden, this study presents three categories of the expectations of potential users of CAVs: Optimistic,Pessimistic, and Contradictory expectations. The Optimistic expectations represent potential users'positive insights of what they need for CAVs to be a successful innovation. The Pessimistic expectations relate to the potential user's hope that adverse events will happen in the introduction of CAVs and thatthe service will produce negative outcomes. The Contradictory expectations are conflicting expectations that potential users have for CAVs which share both optimistic and pessimistic views. This studydiscusses the implications of the categories of the expectations of potential users for service designersand researchers. The study also proposes future recommendations for the extension of this researchwork.