Race to Connected, Self-Driving Cars Not Without Speed Bumps

Those racing to fill the streets with driverless and shared vehicles are weighing their competitive pursuits and market moves against the new regulations and industry standards coming down the pike.

Automotive and technology companies are forging ahead and jockeying for market position in the rapidly evolving area of connected and self-driving cars, but there remain challenges before the industry achieves widespread deployment and regulatory uncertainty fades. These are among the takeaways from Foley & Lardner LLP’s 2017 Connected Cars & Autonomous Vehicles Survey.

At their base, our findings shed light on the business and legal strategies of those racing to fill the streets with driverless and shared vehicles, including leading automakers, suppliers, startups, investment firms and technology companies. However, when you dig deeper, you start to see how they are weighing their competitive pursuits and market moves against the new regulations and industry standards coming down the pike.

Different Technologies, Different Timelines, Different Obstacles

While “connected cars” and “autonomous vehicles” often are used interchangeably under the self-driving banner, there are clear and important differences between the two technologies. We define them distinctly as:

Connected Cars: Vehicles equipped with any variety of sensors that enable communication with the driver, other vehicles, roadside infrastructure and the cloud in order to improve vehicle safety, efficiency and rider experience.
Autonomous Vehicles: Fully automated or self-driving vehicles that are capable of operating without direct driver action to control steering, acceleration and braking. Currently, vehicles may be computer-driven or computer-assisted-driven, with various levels of autonomy, as well as connected features that allow exchanges of data.

Connected-car technologies already are prevalent today, with increasing ease of access, convenience and affordability, whereas the deployment of autonomous and shared vehicles is further on the horizon. Alongside the differences in where these technologies stand in their development and implementation, our survey found they face varying obstacles to growth. Our survey respondents identify cybersecurity and privacy issues as their most pressing concern for connected cars, whereas safety and readiness to adopt autonomous vehicles emerge as the greatest barriers for them.

Despite the differing timelines for adoption, our survey also shows automotive and technology companies are only slightly more focused on developing technology for connected cars (56%) than autonomous vehicles (52%). This reinforces the fact that resources must be devoted concurrently to both types of technology to keep pace in a competitive marketplace.

Lawmakers Responding to Calls for Stronger Regulatory Framework

Given the significant financial and safety stakes, the sophisticated nature of the technology and the expected pervasive impact on society, regulatory certainty at the federal level is critical to keep this industry moving forward. It is not efficient for 50 different states to dictate the development of connected cars and autonomous vehicles.

Lawmakers in Washington are catching up and are close to setting the course for future development, as there are legislative packages working their way through Congress that would address the deployment of self-driving cars and pre-empt state laws. Additionally, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. recently released a report concerning “unnecessary regulatory barriers” and is seeking public comments on how to spur R&D, prioritize safety and accelerate deployment.

These are welcomed developments for an industry seeking an alternative to the patchwork of differing state requirements. Most of our survey respondents (62%) believe nationally consistent rules from the federal government are the best way to regulate connected cars and autonomous vehicles. “Developing and fielding autonomous-vehicle technology is going to become increasingly dependent on the support of the federal government to develop national regulations,” one automotive supplier told us.

Together with traditional cars on the road, clear-cut rules for such autonomous vehicles can’t come soon enough, as the first public tests of self-driving cars without backup drivers have begun.

This article originally published in WardsAuto.com and is reprinted with permission.

This blog is made available by Foley & Lardner LLP (“Foley” or “the Firm”) for informational purposes only. It is not meant to convey the Firm’s legal position on behalf of any client, nor is it intended to convey specific legal advice. Any opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Foley & Lardner LLP, its partners, or its clients. Accordingly, do not act upon this information without seeking counsel from a licensed attorney. This blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Communicating with Foley through this website by email, blog post, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship for any legal matter. Therefore, any communication or material you transmit to Foley through this blog, whether by email, blog post or any other manner, will not be treated as confidential or proprietary. The information on this blog is published “AS IS” and is not guaranteed to be complete, accurate, and or up-to-date. Foley makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation or content of the site. Foley expressly disclaims all other guarantees, warranties, conditions and representations of any kind, either express or implied, whether arising under any statute, law, commercial use or otherwise, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Foley or any of its partners, officers, employees, agents or affiliates be liable, directly or indirectly, under any theory of law (contract, tort, negligence or otherwise), to you or anyone else, for any claims, losses or damages, direct, indirect special, incidental, punitive or consequential, resulting from or occasioned by the creation, use of or reliance on this site (including information and other content) or any third party websites or the information, resources or material accessed through any such websites. In some jurisdictions, the contents of this blog may be considered Attorney Advertising. If applicable, please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Photographs are for dramatization purposes only and may include models. Likenesses do not necessarily imply current client, partnership or employee status.