Happy New Year! Reflecting on a Memorable Year in Mobility
While we are excited for all the promise a new year brings—including in the rapidly evolving automotive technology space—we didn’t want to get too far down the road without pausing to reflect on the major developments that came and went with 2022. We also love a good year end list. Check out our list below, and let us know what made your “best of” list!
Tesla raised the price of its “Full Self Driving” feature, then gave access to anyone who purchased the package regardless of safety score, all while facing litigation, legislative action, and regulatory and public scrutiny over the safety and actual functionality of its ADAS technology relative to its public marketing.
EV manufacturers struggled to meet skyrocketing demand as supply chain and sourcing issues persisted.
Federal and State lawmakers announced major incentives and lofty targets for EV adoption and committed to greater AV oversight and regulation.
Traditional legal constructs were tested as felony charges were filed against the driver of an AV for the first time, and Tesla largely prevailed in its first jury trial involving a vehicle fatality.
Traditional OEMs like Ford and VW pulled back from fully autonomous development plans, focusing instead on Level 2+ designs, just as robotaxi companies like Waymo and Cruise expanded (although not without incident).
NHTSA began to release data from crashes involving advanced driving technologies, gathered in response to its 2021 Standing Order requiring reporting of such data by OEMs and operators, with mixed reception and uncertain utility.
Mercedes set its sights on becoming the first OEM to receive Level 3 approval in the United States, and it was broadly reported to have committed to take legal responsibility for the vehicle whenever its Level 3 system, DrivePilot, was properly engaged.
Connected vehicles and the data they produce were central to industry discussions about privacy, access, recall responses, cybersecurity, and revenue potential.
Copyright Nelson Niehaus LLC
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This blog post is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.