We now know that regulators and consumers agree on the protection of personal data, data and consumer privacy and try to hold companies accountable for that protection. This shift toward prioritizing privacy is creating new challenges as organizations strive to improve their privacy and data security to meet regulations and consumer expectations. However, this shift has also created an opportunity for companies to become industry leaders in the field, and knowing current issues and best practices to solve them is the first step to setting this precedent. A complicated market landscape has been the norm in the automotive industry for almost two years now. Since the beginning of 2020, manufacturers have been hampered by plant closures, social distancing regulations, soaring commodity prices, supply chain delays, and microprocessor bottlenecks to employees. Add to that unpredictable changes in consumer demand, inflation concerns, and hard-to-understand valuations like Tesla`s staggering trillion-dollar market cap.1 The confusion is compounded by the fact that the industry is in the midst of a change caused by a rapid transition to increasingly connected vehicles. autonomous and electrified. In short, there is a lot going on that market participants need to keep track of. COVID-related issues aren`t the only key issues facing auto employers over the next year. We`ve already seen some course corrections from the Trump-era Bureau of Labor.
As a result, changes to NLRB standards and priorities will continue to affect unionized and non-unionized employers through 2022. Automakers are also facing increasing scrutiny of emissions laws. It takes a lot of money for research and development to test and mass produce emission control devices – organizations often set up a specific unit to separate research and development in the subsidiary. In addition, the automotive industry in Europe is not only faced with regulations regarding the final product, but also around the manufacturing process itself. The EU`s Industrial Emissions Directive aims to regulate polluting emissions from industrial facilities, meaning business leaders on the continent must work with teams that track both production processes and the environmental and sustainable impacts of production itself. Finally, in the PESTLE analysis, comes the environmental impact on the automotive industry. Government regulations have been enacted to control the impact of industrial manufacturing on the environment. Carbon emissions will be closely monitored and automakers will have to adapt their assembly process to these new regulations to avoid legal action against them. But it`s not just new laws and regulations that are putting pressure on the auto industry when it comes to its data management practices.
Consumers themselves are also a driving force in privacy verification inside and outside the automotive industry. As automotive technologies become more personal and targeted, individuals become more vulnerable and consumers now expect their vehicle`s privacy and security protections to match the functionality and advancements of smart technology. While data protection compliance can lead to new business and operational challenges, non-compliance can result in hefty financial and legal penalties, including hefty fines and possible civil liability. A potentially even more serious consequence of non-compliance could be the loss of consumer confidence. Just as a cybersecurity breach can signal to consumers that their data is not secure, a company`s violation of applicable privacy laws could send a similar message. As consumers continue to prioritize privacy, businesses that cannot meet consumer expectations or regulatory requirements could lose their reputation and goodwill in the marketplace. Therefore, by 2020, we expect a company`s privacy and personal data protection culture, policies and practices to become an important consideration for consumers in the marketplace. Regulatory compliance is likely the first step in establishing the kind of privacy culture and reputation that businesses need to earn and maintain consumer trust. With new technology and/or smart features in a car, licensing offers OEMs the opportunity to reduce costs by reducing the development and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Licensing also involves some legal risks. When negotiating a license agreement, you should carefully consider the exclusivity of a licensed feature, the ownership of custom changes to the licensed feature, and the ownership of data resulting from the driver`s use of a vehicle with such functionality. A supplier should also use strict confidentiality measures and proprietary safeguards for technology assets, and specifically address rights for any single specification of the licensed technology. As new technologies dominate the industry, the structure of your license agreement – and the clauses protecting your intellectual property – becomes increasingly important. While the potential challenges of future technologies raise exciting questions for the automotive industry, the NHTSA Enforcement Agency should remain a priority for manufacturers` security teams. By the end of 2019, the agency had conducted 44 open gaps (18 technical analyses and 26 preliminary assessments) and ten suitability investigations of manufacturer recalls.19 As these numbers show, NHTSA`s investigative efforts remain active and robust. Over the past year, NHTSA has demonstrated a willingness to use its investigative and intelligence-gathering tools to monitor ADAS and ADS. In June 2021, NHTSA issued General Standing Order (SGO) 2021-01, which requires more than 100 vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, and operators to report certain accidents involving vehicles with ADAS and L3 and L3 automation Level 2 (L2) and above to the agency. NHTSA said it released the SGO to obtain information on potential safety deficiencies and to assess manufacturers` compliance with regulatory requirements to detect safety deficiencies in a timely manner and conduct recalls. “Given the rapid development of these technologies and the testing of new technologies and features on publicly accessible roads, it is critical that NHTSA rigorously monitor potential safety deficiencies in vehicles operating with ADS and ADAS Level 2.” NHTSA SGO 2021-01 p.
2. The antitrust resistance of Crown corporations – at least in the form of an independent court challenge – to a merger approved by the federal government or the FTC is unusual. This challenge by the state attorney general at least raises the possibility that a federal court will approve a final judgment proposed by the DOJ in accordance with the “public interest” standard of the Tunney Act, while another federal court will order the settlement (perhaps for antitrust reasons not even invoked by the DOJ). At the very least, challenging the parallel public GA here may increase the likelihood in future transactions that one or more state-owned AGMs – who are dissatisfied with a DOJ or FTC settlement agreement – will independently attempt to prohibit the transaction, thereby exposing transactions to higher timing and transaction risk. By contrast, merger investigations in the EU are carried out either by the EC (DG COMP) or by the EU Member States, but not simultaneously at both levels. As countries` lifestyles and economic conditions change, the automotive industry has the potential to grow rapidly in the future. However, there are safety and environmental concerns that they need to address in order to maintain stability. The PESTEL analysis of the automotive industry shows that the automotive industry should succeed in cushioning its potential threats.
Only then can they expand their activities in both developed and developing countries.
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