Technology
The automotive industry is driving innovation and global technological advancement. As a result, today’s automobile represents the most sophisticated technology owned by most consumers. Virtually every aspect of the modern automobile is now high-tech, using state-of-the-art materials and processes that rely on highly skilled workers.
Autonomous
Vehicles
Autonomous vehicles have the potential to make mobility safer, cleaner and more accessible. Impairment, distraction and excessive speed are among the leading causes of fatalities on our roadways. Because AVs greatly reduce these risk factors, they hold enormous potential to save lives and transform mobility for all road users — including pedestrians and cyclists.
The auto industry in America has been innovating for more than a century, and today’s AV systems represent the most sophisticated application of automotive safety engineering and applied artificial intelligence to date.
The United States must continue to lead in developing and deploying AVs and emerging mobility technologies. Maintaining that leadership ensures U.S. competitiveness, strengthens the industrial base, and shapes the global standards that will govern the future of transportation.
National Security Imperative
U.S. leadership is not only an economic imperative — it is a matter of national security. The technologies underpinning AVs (advanced sensors, edge computing, V2I communication, applied AI) are multiuse capabilities with broad implications for defense and critical infrastructure. Ceding this ground to foreign competitors would jeopardize supply chains, erode domestic manufacturing capacity, and forfeit U.S. influence over the technical architecture of tomorrow’s mobility systems.
Privacy &
Data Access
Modern vehicles are sophisticated, connected devices, and like any connected technology, they generate data — from navigation and entertainment preferences to vehicle performance and location history.
Automakers take the privacy of that data seriously. That’s why the auto industry developed a set of privacy principles — a clear, voluntary commitment to how automakers collect, use and protect the information generated by your vehicle. Those principles are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, which can penalize any signatory company that violates them.
The industry supports a national framework for vehicle data privacy — one that sets clear, consistent rules across all 50 states and avoids a patchwork of conflicting requirements that creates confusion for both consumers and manufacturers.
Connectivity &
Cybersecurity
Technologies that are transforming personal mobility — including connectivity, electrification, and automation — are driving us toward a cleaner, safer, and smarter transportation future. These innovations have the potential to bring profound benefits to consumers, the economy, the environment, and society, but they also introduce new cybersecurity challenges.
The integration of vehicles into a broader ecosystem of connected infrastructure, devices, features, and stakeholders involves a number of factors outside the control of the auto industry. Securing the entire motor vehicle ecosystem is crucial to realizing the benefits of automotive innovation. The auto industry is doing its part by proactively building cybersecurity into its products and services.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is used widely across the auto industry, and the potential applications for this technology are extensive, especially for autonomous vehicles.
Advances in AI have the potential to protect vulnerable road users, reduce serious traffic injuries and deaths, improve roadway safety, and provide environmental benefits.
These advances support the design engineering process, enhance quality control and advanced vehicle manufacturing, underpin crash avoidance systems and predictive maintenance, and power systems that help drivers stay engaged in the driving task.
To ensure a healthy and competitive automotive industry that supports American economic and national security, the U.S. government should foster a regulatory environment that promotes innovation and encourages the trustworthy development and deployment of AI.
Patents &
Intellectual Property
Patents reward the significant investments automakers and suppliers make in developing safer, cleaner and more connected vehicles. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a critical partner in that process, and the industry supports a patent system that is reliable, transparent and balanced.
Automotive companies are inventors, relying on strong, high-quality intellectual property rights and robust enforcement to bring new vehicle technologies to the U.S. market and to benefit consumers, the environment and society overall.
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