Either as a lesson from the smartphone patent wars, or a non-confrontational culture, automakers are keen to avoid patent wars as they computerize their vehicles.  However, in an effort to capture as much of the electric and/or autonomous vehicle market as possible and drive demand for their vehicles, the automotive industry appears to be revamping its business strategy when it comes to leveraging their patent portfolios. Historically, companies attempted to capture market share by asserting large patent portfolios around commercially valuable features in order to exclude rivals.  Innovative ..read more

What if the automotive industry builds autonomous vehicles and no one wants them?  What if no one trusts them well enough to want to own one or ride in one?  This is precisely what was addressed at the recent World Congress Experience.  The lack of regulations, be they national, state, regional or local is definitely a hindrance to the adoption of a more autonomous future. Even if regulations get drafted here and there, they may not be consistent from location to location.  This can be as bad as not having regulations at all.  Developing and manufacturing a vehicle that will adhere to regula ..read more

Without question, autonomous cars and autonomous systems are here to stay. As automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and new entrants to the industry dive headfirst into the autonomous vehicle sector, questions remain as to how prepared U.S. cities are as the impending swarm of self-driving and semi-autonomous cars, trucks, and buses hit city roads in the coming years. Cities and states around the United States are facing budgetary constraints which have led to crumbling road infrastructure, overburdened and out of date public transit systems, and increasingly higher traffic congestion. While ..read more

While developers of autonomous vehicles have not always had welcome news from the California DMV, they recently received some helpful clarity on the regulations applicable to autonomous vehicle testing on California public roads. The DMV’s revised proposed regulations permit companies to, among other things, test vehicles without having a driver in the car, a change from past proposed rules.  Manufacturers must apply to be allowed to conduct driverless tests; part of that application process will be to notify local authorities of when and where such testing will take place, and to set up a l ..read more

A recent study published by AlixPartners estimates that for each car-sharing vehicle on the road, 32 personal vehicle purchases do not occur, which to date has resulted in 500,000 missed vehicle sales for automotive manufacturers. AlixPartners estimates that by 2020, automakers will miss out on an additional 1.2 million vehicle sales as a result of ride sharing systems as they begin to mature nationwide. As of 2016, 6 million people worldwide were using some form of shared-vehicle transportation and its projected that could grow to 30 million people by 2020. Survey respondents indicated “eas ..read more

One year ago, we posted about the National Association of City Officials’s (NACTO) policy recommendations for autonomous vehicles.  NACTO focused on the projected infrastructure requirements for autonomous vehicles.  Now, the National League of Cities (NLC) is weighing in that cities need to speed up their efforts of preparing for autonomous cars. In its Autonomous Vehicles – A Policy Preparation Guide, NLC pointed out several key areas of infrastructure development, including two sometimes overlooked components – the broadband needs of a mixed autonomous vehicle transportation system, and h ..read more

With automated cars comes hopes of safer driving, more efficient commuting, increased productivity, reduced human errors, and fewer accidents. However, as self-driving cars becomes a reality, car accidents may lead to legal controversy over who is responsible for the accident; the manufacturer or the owner? In September 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a Federal Automated Vehicles Policy which adopted the Society of Automotive Engineers (“SAE”) classification levels for automation. The SAE developed a five point scale to classify levels of automation ..read more

The cars we drive to work every day run primarily on computers that collect thousands of data points. Same goes for the factory that manufactured them and the company that designed and sold them. This evolution makes cybersecurity vital at every step in the supply chain. We know manufacturing is one of the most hacked industries. We know hackers target individual cars. We’ve seen cybersecurity best practices from Auto-ISAC and NHTSA. With that, we wanted to provide companies with a list of concrete steps to consider to help minimize the risk of, and prepare for, cyber-intrusions. Below is ou ..read more

Multiple developments recently demonstrate that self-driving vehicles continue their steady march to potential world domination.  First, there was Apple meeting the application requirements for autonomous vehicle testing in California.  As reported in USA Today, this gave Apple “the green light to test self-driving cars in Calif.”  Among the more interesting nuggets in this story is that there are now 30 – thirty! – companies who have obtained Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permits in California.  The list is precisely the mix of automotive, technology and supporting companies one would expect ..read more

It is “Auto Show” week in Detroit, as the city hosts the 2017 North American International Auto Show.  This week includes press unveils of new and updated models, the latest mobility technologies at the AutoMobili-D pavilion, the charity preview featuring 17,000 auto industry players in tuxedos and long dresses and, of course, predictions for where the automotive market in North America is going in 2017. Some of those predictions were reviewed at the Association for Corporate Growth’s “Automotive Outlook” event held on January 10th at the beautiful and buzzing Detroit Athletic Club.  The fea ..read more