By Alex Maschmedt, Louise Yun King & Wood Mallesons

The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released a discussion paper outlining four regulatory options to govern the safety of driverless cars and other autonomous vehicles in Australia. These include:

  1. Continuing the current approach
  2. Self-certification
  3. Pre-market approval
  4. Accreditation

These proposals mark an important step in developing a complete regulatory framework to support the large-scale roll-out of automated vehicles in the near future. The NTC is currently seeking feedback on each of the options proposed, along with any other issues that may arise in the regulation of driverless car technology. Subsequently, the NTC will formulate recommendations to submit to Australian transport ministers in November 2017.

This article evaluates the four regulatory options in light of current Australian practices surrounding vehicle safety and governance.
Continue Reading The Regulatory Road for Driverless Cars in Australia

China has issued a raft of measures aimed at moulding its auto industry to meet both the challenges posed by the global economic crisis and possibly even use the crisis to achieve long held strategic government goals. The short term goal appears to be to boost domestic consumption of cars and thereby stimulate the economy. The longer term goals have been previously enunciated in NDRC auto policy, namely consolidate the industry, build some national auto champions and build quality “green” cars. According to The New York Times, China is aiming to become a global leader in manufacturing electric cars.

Xu Ping, Partner, FDI

Continue Reading China Retools its Auto Industry to meet Global Challenges