Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News Mexico
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
  • News
    • Photos
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • Sales By Market
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Latest Launches
    • Sales and Retail
    • Car Cutaways
    • On The Move
    • China's Baoneng boosts stake in Qoros
      Citroen says Ami One two-seater is a new concept for affordable mobility
      EU, Japan back automatic braking regulation
      German auto jobs at risk from hard Brexit
    • Driv spinoff to build smart suspension systems
      Faurecia hopes to outperform uncertain market
      Plastic Omnium posts strong results despite global production slump
      Sweden's Veoneer forecasts flat sales in 2019
    • Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Nissan take big hits as European sales fall 5% in January
      Russia sales rise nearly 1% in January despite VAT increase
      Audi, Fiat, BMW among losers as Spanish sales fall 8% in January
      Volvo, VW gain sales in UK market down nearly 2% in January as diesel plunge continues
    • Volvo blurs the wagon/SUV line with the V60 Cross Country
      view gallery
      7 photos
      New Range Rover Evoque designed for the 'urban jungle'
      Range Rover Evoque gets hybrid tech to cut emissions
      Tarraco gives Seat a flagship SUV to help retain wealthy buyers
    • Ferrari will unveil V-8 hybrid supercar this year
      Mercedes outsold Audi in China last month on sedan demand
      Tesla's Musk visits Norway to review delivery delays
      Europe's minicar segment to shrink as VW, PSA mull axing their smallest cars
    • Suppliers to the new Porsche Panamera
      Suppliers to the new Peugeot 5008
      Suppliers to the new Seat Ibiza
      Suppliers to the new VW Touareg
    • Ford names new chief government relations officer
      Daimler appoints Airbus exec as finance chief
      VW China CEO to join VW brand's management board
      Mini USA names marketing veteran McKenna head of product planning
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Auto Shows
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Frankfurt Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Citroen says Ami One two-seater is a new concept for affordable mobility
      China EV startup Aiways will launch SUV in Europe
      Bentley revs up Bentayga with Speed variant
      Skoda will debut first EV at Geneva show
    • Bugatti considers four-door model for 2024
      Frankfurt's best and wurst
      Frankfurt photo booth
      Merkel says German car industry must work to rebuild trust
    • Vietnam's first automaker now has names for first sedan, SUV
      China's GAC likely to debut in Europe with an EV
      Bugatti mulls SUV as part of broader model range
      Ferrari Monza supercars will earn $755 million in revenue
    • VW will launch SOL EV brand in China with subcompact crossover
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW will export iX3 electric SUV to Europe, U.S. from China
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW's iX3 concept heralds electric expansion
      view gallery
      11 photos
      Mercedes seeks to keep China luxury lead with stretched A class
    • view gallery
      7 photos
      Jeep finds green groove with plug-in hybrid SUV concept
      Foreign automakers embrace China as EV development hub
      China lands Chevy Volt in a Buick wrapper
      Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati sales soar in China as rich snub austerity push
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Luca Ciferri
    • Douglas A. Bolduc
    • Paul McVeigh
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
  • Maps
    • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
    • Powertrain Map of Europe
    • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
  • Supplements
    • Connected Car
    • Talk From The Top
    • BMW 100
    • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS & AWARDS
    • Automotive News Europe Congress
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
  • E-MAGAZINE
    • Read the latest issue
    • Download the app
    • Subscribe
  • More
    • E-Magazine
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • About Us
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
September 21, 2017 01:00 AM

Best self-driving tech going nowhere as rules stall under Trump

Keith Naughton, Ryan Beene and David Welch
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Jackie Charniga
    Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao: “The technology will determine the trend.”

    DETROIT/WASHINGTON -- The technology that gives cars superpowers to see around corners and through walls won’t be on the first self-driving rides hitting the road in the next few years.

    Vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems, known as V2V, are regarded as essential for fully automated travel, which could dramatically reduce traffic fatalities from around 40,000 in the U.S. last year. The tech enables cars to send signals back and forth to one another, improving their ability to foresee potential collisions and avert them. 

    Despite its promise, the tech is going nowhere fast. A push by regulators during the Obama administration to speed V2V to market has stalled under the Trump administration. Without rules requiring it, automakers including Ford Motor Co. are holding off on deploying $350-per-vehicle systems that aren’t effective unless most cars have it.

    “Unless it gets mandated, nobody is going to put it on their cars,” said Glen De Vos, chief technology officer at Delphi Automotive, a supplier of autonomous-driving systems. “As we meet with regulators, we continue to pound the drum and tell them these early-warning systems in V2V communications have huge safety benefits.”

    The race is on to get self-driving cars on the road.

    General Motors, Tesla, Daimler, Google affiliate Waymo and others have promised autonomous models will hit the highway over the next few years. The first ones -- expected to be robot-taxis, commuter shuttles and driverless delivery vehicles -- will be guided by sensors embedded on board the cars. Without V2V, the views from those cameras, ultrasonic and laser-radar sensors only go as far as the eye can see.

    'Sixth sense' 

    V2V transponders rely on Wi-Fi and may eventually use 5G cellular signals. They aren’t constrained by obstacles like neighboring trucks or buildings.

    “This connectivity is like your car’s sixth sense,” said Huei Peng, director of the University of Michigan’s Mcity autonomous test track, who demonstrated this technology to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao last week.

    Achieving the highest level of automation -- what auto engineers call Level 5 autonomy -- requires V2V, said Kay Stepper, vice president and regional head of automated driving for German supplier Robert Bosch. On-board sensors on current driverless cars can only sustain Level 4 autonomy, where vehicles travel in restricted areas or under limited conditions.

    A self-driving vehicle “has to be able to deal with any traffic situation it’s thrown into,” Stepper said in an interview. “That’s why we need V2V.”

    An Obama administration proposal to equip all new cars with V2V transponders has been put on the back burner by the Trump administration. After having eased federal guidelines for testing autonomous autos and moving to slash rules elsewhere, industry executives say it’s unlikely the administration will mandate the technology.

    Chao’s stance 

    Officials from the Transportation Department declined to discuss the status of V2V regulations at the event last week where Chao unveiled updated U.S. autonomous testing guidelines. Chao suggested state and local governments bear responsibility for deploying communication devices in stop lights and road signs, though she said Trump’s plan to rebuild infrastructure will include federal incentives to encourage new tech.

    “There will be a competitive process in which those projects that have greater innovation and are more forward looking will have a larger share of our federal dollars,” Chao said. “The technology will determine the trend.”

    For now, V2V is mired in regulatory review. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hasn’t signaled its next step on the proposed mandate, which has been supported by safety advocates, automakers including GM, and suppliers trying to sell the systems.

    The National Transportation Safety Board, which last week said shortcomings in Tesla’s Autopilot system contributed to a fatal 2016 crash, reiterated its recommendation made to NHTSA three years ago that it require V2V technology.

    V2V detractors

    Free-market groups and other carmakers, including Tesla, have criticized a mandate in part because it could force a particular V2V tech on the industry while ignoring newer alternatives.

    The chasm could give the Trump administration cover to abandon the rule, as it has other Obama-era initiatives, according to Marc Scribner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington.“The only action I can see would be a formal withdrawal of the rule,” Scribner said.

    The Obama administration’s proposal had set a timeline to install V2V technology on all cars, SUVs and light trucks by 2023, using the same federal safety standards dictating that autos have rear-view mirrors and brake lights.

    “But this is now in the slow lane,” said Peng, the director at U-M’s test track. “I have no idea when it will happen.”

    GM, Ford

    Some automakers are still eager to deploy the tech. GM outfitted its Cadillac CTS model with V2V communications this summer, hoping it would spur others to follow. No one has yet.

    “We really do need a little help from the government,” said Matthew Kirsch, GM’s engineering group manager for automated driving and active safety, who’s been lobbying federal and state regulators to gain support for the technology.

    Ken Washington, Ford’s chief technology officer, called V2V “very important to safety,” but said that “everybody has to do it.”

    A challenge for proponents of V2V is the dearth of consumer demand for tech that doesn’t work until it’s widespread on the roadways. Auto companies likely would have to bear the expense of outfitting their cars with communication transponders.

    “It’s all about cost,” said Kristin Schondorf, executive director of automotive and transportation mobility at consultant EY. “At the moment, there is no logical reason for a customer to pay money to put that on their car. So the return on investment is zero” for the companies.

    ‘Pretty stalled’

    Rollout is another roadblock for V2V. With more than 250 million cars on the road in the U.S. -- and 1.2 billion worldwide -- it would take decades to outfit every vehicle with the technology. The first year of a federal mandate, new models embedded with the tech would represent only about 7 percent of cars on U.S. roads.

    That’s why the first deployments of V2V could come in commercial or government applications. Cities may decide to embed the devices in their stop lights and public buses. Delivery companies might embed transponders in their trucks and in roadway signs and signals along heavily traveled routes.

    But even those limited deployments will require rules of the road from regulators. Until that happens, V2V’s future remains in doubt.

    “It makes a lot of sense, but it seems pretty stalled,” said Mark Wakefield, head of the automotive practice at consultant AlixPartners. “It really has to be mandated to get the full safety benefit. At this point, I’d say the jury is out on V2V.”

    Monthly E-Magazine
    Thumbnail
    View latest issue
    See our archive
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Automotive News Europe Monthly E-Magazine

    Sign up to receive your free link to each monthly issue of Automotive News Europe as soon as it's published.

    GET THE E-MAGAZINE
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584


    Email Us

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • News
      • Photos
        • Geneva Photo Gallery
        • Beijing Photo Gallery
        • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
        • Paris Photo Gallery
        • Shanghai Photo Gallery
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • Sales By Market
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Latest Launches
      • Sales and Retail
      • Car Cutaways
      • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
      • Geneva Auto Show
      • Frankfurt Auto Show
      • Paris Auto Show
      • Beijing Auto Show
      • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Luca Ciferri
      • Douglas A. Bolduc
      • Paul McVeigh
    • Maps
      • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
      • Powertrain Map of Europe
      • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
    • Supplements
      • Connected Car
      • Talk From The Top
      • BMW 100
      • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS & AWARDS
      • Automotive News Europe Congress
      • Rising Stars
      • Eurostars
      • Leading Women
    • E-MAGAZINE
      • Read the latest issue
      • Download the app
      • Subscribe
    • More
      • E-Magazine
      • Contact Us
      • 2019 Media Kit
      • About Us