Connected Vehicles: emerging business models and their key legal aspects
In the mid‑90s, Elastica captured a restless cultural moment with Connection—a song pulsing with the irresistible pull toward something new. Thirty years later, automotive and transportation companies are chasing the same energy through the rise of connected vehicles and new AI enabled features. Connected vehicles are becoming software-defined, sensor‑rich, and permanently online. This evolution expands both legal exposure across sectors and legal frameworks that were traditionally unfamiliar for the automotive and transportation industry: (i) telecoms licensing and cross‑border connectivity, (ii) data protection and data-sharing (e.g. with insurers/ad-tech), (iii) cybersecurity and safe Over-The-Air (OTA) governance, (iv) product liability for automated/ Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features, (v) eCall obligations amid 2G/3G mobile network sunsets, (vi) national‑security supply‑chain controls, and (vii) IP disputes, just to name a few.
In this new issue of At a Crossroads, our Automotive & Transportation Industry Group distils the main emerging business models and integrates recent legal developments to ground the advice in reality.
