Perspectives on Transportation & Mobility

Starting on January 1, 2020, automotive dealers will need to comply with the strongest online privacy law in the United States, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018.

As the dust settles on a campaign cycle that was unprecedented in many ways, we have composed this biennial post-election analysis to assist our clients in assessing the potential impact of the elections on their organizations and their industries.

Much has been written about the problem of the stagnating electricity market due to a combination of falling demand, widespread energy efficiency initiatives, lower electricity costs, and aging infrastructure.

In November, 2016, the FTC amended the Used Car Rule, and made significant changes to the Buyers Guide. The amended Rule required dealers to begin displaying the revised Buyers Guide beginning January 28, 2018.

California federal judge granted O’Reilly Auto Enterprises bid for partial summary judgment on an employee’s Private Attorneys General Act claim, finding her proposed wage-and-hour class action suit did not offer any evidence that O’Reilly violated state labor codes with respect to other workers.

If you are tired of simply racing cars in arcades, then this could be the job for you. Consumer surveys point to lingering public concerns about the safety of self-driving cars even as the technology launches this year with Waymo’s robot-taxi service in Phoenix.

Those taxi and Uber drivers will have some Olympic competition of their own! A self-driving car service could be on Tokyo’s public roads in time for the 2020 Olympics as Japan looks to drive investment in new technology to drive economic growth, according to a government strategic review announced.

Will we be hailing driverless cars sooner rather than later? California regulators have allowed self-driving cars to pick up ride-share passengers for the first time in the Golden State.

Well, it looks like Waymo and FCA US are getting along. Google affiliate Waymo will purchase up to 62,000 additional Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans from FCA US starting later this year to begin a national expansion of the company’s public driverless ride-hailing fleet, the two companies said.

Kon’nichiwa Motor City. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp will invest $2.25 billion in General Motors Co’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise, the companies said, a deal that validates the venerable Detroit automaker’s leadership in self-driving cars and sent GM shares up nearly 13 percent.

Say it isn’t so! Tea leaves are notoriously imprecise when it comes to divining the future, but as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has left us no other signs about what the next five years hold for the automaker he is about to leave, tea leaves will have to do.

Location, location, location. Mapping startup Mapbox Inc said it is teaming up with Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and Softbank Group Corp’s ARM Holdings chip unit to deepen its push into providing maps for self-driving cars. Mapbox does not make a mapping app itself.

If you can’t beat them, join them!

Following a tweet from President Donald Trump that there was “big news coming soon” for the automotive industry, the Department of Commerce (DOC) formally announced on May 24, 2018 an investigation into the impact of certain automotive imports on US national security interests.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 30 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as leaders in their field.

Arent Fox is pleased to announce the launch of a new Blockchain group that pulls together attorneys from a number of the firm’s top practices to help clients navigate this emerging technology.

Political letters: an underappreciated variation on political memos. Five Democratic US Senators released a letter on March 14 that urged changes to the Senate autonomous vehicles bill.

Ah, the barons of self-driving cars, and their Great Charter. Magna International, a Canadian auto-parts supplier, has partnered with Lyft to supply the ride-sharing service with kits to turn regular vehicles into self-driving cars.

There’s no need to be alarmed, but that semi only being supervised, not driven, by a human.

“Travel my way, take the highway” – lyrics Uber probably didn’t quote about their work in Arizona. For several months, Uber’s self-driving trucks have been carrying cargo on Arizona highways, according to a recent company statement.

Well, that’s a first. In its annual Energy Outlook, BP’s researchers forecast a fundamentally changed transportation industry, with more travel but less private cars and increased efficiency standards.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, VW is not shy about its regard for the company behind iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

The future, according to carmakers, does not include using your built-in navigation system as a stand for your smartphone and its Google Maps app.

While the Marketplace is open, GM is still getting vendors. In December, GM rolled out “Marketplace” to over 2 million GM drivers with an initial pack of features for ordering food, reserving hotel rooms and restaurant tables, and locating gas stations from your GM vehicle.