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In this blog series, we’ll unpack the latest news in the smart mobility industry in a little more detail. Each week, we’ll focus on fresh topics, covering emerging stories and research that has caught our attention. This week we’re focusing on future automotive trends, autonomous vehicle regulations and the state of US electric vehicle infrastructure.

California is finally reviewing regulations on heavy-duty autonomous vehicles – but there’s a catch. A leading tech company predicts substantial changes on the horizon for our relationships with our vehicles. And there’s talk of a fourth traffic light getting introduced to our roads. Stick with us for another breakdown of all the biggest moves in smart mobility – backed by insights into how Wejo’s Smart Mobility For Good™ products and solutions can help green light your upcoming project.

TechCrunch: California says ‘no’ to driverless trucks

Following years of pressure from the autonomous vehicles industry, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is finally ready to permit companies to test and deploy self-driving trucks on public roads. But it’s not all smooth sailing. Late January saw California Assembly Member, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, announce a bill requiring a trained human safety operator any time you’re handling a heavy-duty autonomous vehicle on public roads in the state. While companies need human safety operators for AV testing, they aim to eventually remove these drivers. But will California’s new rules allow such a future?

Read the full story here

Accelerating AV development

Last month, Gartner published a report on the Top Automotive Trends for 2023. Within, Gartner predicted huge barriers to the adoption of connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles – such as public distrust, technology complexity, regulatory issues, scalability roadblocks, and high levels of investment for little return. 

Hydrogen Central: Five automotive trends that will change our relationship with cars

DXC Technology – a leading Fortune 500 Global Technology company – has come up with five automotive trends that will massively impact our relationship with cars in the next five years. Predictions suggest that the software in your vehicle will be as important as its logo; your car will renew itself and offer on-demand upgrades; owning a car may be a thing of the past for Gen Z; your car will arrange an appointment with a mechanic before you know you have a problem; and hydrogen may fuel your future electric vehicle. Are you ready for the new age of automotives? 

Read the full story here

Connecting cars with Wejo

For real-time vehicle diagnostics to be possible, cars need internet connectivity and onboard sensors. These communication systems allow vehicles to then share real-time information between each other, and with infrastructure and third-party service providers. Using this information, organizations can make more informed decisions around safety, convenience, and sustainability. Download our eBook to discover why you should consider incorporating connected vehicle data into your decision-making process.

Insider: Automakers need to take EV charging seriously 

In recent years, with relatively low adoption rates in the US, many automakers have been so focused on developing cars that they’ve essentially outsourced electric vehicle charging to third parties, like ChargePoint, EVgo, and Electrify America. Now, motorists are increasingly deterred from the EV transition due to a lack of reliable charging infrastructure. We've reached a point where vehicle manufacturers must contribute to create consistent and reliable charging. In Europe, for instance, BMW, Mercedes, Ford, and Volkswagen formed Ionity, a joint venture in electric vehicle charging. The US has some catching up to do…

Read more here 

How to achieve EV charging targets 

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill includes a total of $7.5 billion to build a nationwide network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging points. But creating a working charging infrastructure isn’t going to happen overnight. Luckily, using connected vehicle data, Wejo can accelerate the process. We draw on information from more than 20 trillion data points from over 20 million vehicles – identifying how they’re moving through cities and communities, what their charging levels look like at different times of the day, and much more.

Discover more about Wejo’s role in EV charging infrastructure here

TechSpot: Researchers propose a fourth traffic light for AVs‍

With driverless cars generating a lot of distrust among road users, AV-wide adoption is still nowhere in sight. Despite this, researchers from North Carolina University have proposed that travel times and gas consumption can decrease if drivers let autonomous vehicles direct traffic using a fourth traffic light. Under the proposal, when a certain percentage of vehicles approaching an intersection are self-driving, the light switches to the new color to inform motorists that it’s coordinating with AVs. The new traffic light would instruct drivers to copy the vehicle ahead of them as opposed to stopping, going, or slowing down. 

Read the full story here 

Assessing transportation upgrades  

Wejo’s connected vehicle data allows you to look at historical and real-time driver behavior and road events – allowing traffic and transportation agencies to develop an accurate picture of driving patterns, road conditions, and up-to-date analyses of incident hotspots. This information can help to evaluate the necessity of certain transportation upgrades – such as a new traffic light – and ultimately demonstrate their effectiveness. Listen to our webinar to hear from expert speakers on how best to leverage connected vehicle data in grant proposals. 

Want to learn more?

For further insights into the goings-on in the mobility industry, check out our resource center or speak to our team by filling out the form below.

As always, if you’ve come across a story that you think is worth sharing, or you want to give your input on what we’ve featured this week, send us a message.