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For Intelligent Transport, Osborne Clarke’s Arty Rajendra and Matthew White consider how connected technologies are disrupting the automotive industry and discuss what the future of car connectivity may look like, as well as outline the legal challenges that are being faced by the sector in this field.

Over the past 10 years, the automotive industry has gone through a period of immense upheaval. Traditional business models, supply chains and incumbent market players are all being challenged by a wave of new entrants that are shaking up the market.

This upheaval has been caused by several trends affecting the industry, including the emergence of autonomous vehicles, growth in shared mobility and the electrification of the vehicle network. While each of these has played a major role in unsettling the market, the greatest disruption can probably be attributed to another trend: connective technology. Whether fully or semi-autonomous, hybrid or electric, shared or personal, connectivity is expected to be the defining feature of ‘the car of the future’.

The fully connected car will be made up of an ecosystem of connected technologies which will enable it to transfer and process large amounts of data while travelling at high-speed. The ability to communicate a substantial volume of information bi-directionally is necessary to support the two main pillars of connectivity: infotainment and infrastructure.