Newsletter

Morgan Lewis Automotive – Q1 | 2017

Q1 | 2017

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This is the 11th issue of our newsletter on developments in the automotive industry, published by Morgan Lewis’s automotive team with contributions from around the globe by leveraging the experience of lawyers in our 30 offices. We counsel our automotive clients on a broad range of industry-specific matters, including mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, litigation, regulatory concerns, intellectual property, and labor and employment.

This issue of Morgan Lewis AUTOMOTIVE, which covers the first quarter of 2017, touches on topics relating to self-driving cars, proposed regulations for diesel-engine vehicles, and other developments in the global automotive markets.

In this issue:

  • Mergers & Acquisitions: PSA Group to acquire Opel from GM; Intel to acquire Mobileye for $15 billion; Tata and Volkswagen to cooperate in India; GM and Honda to jointly manufacture components of fuel cell systems; Toyota and Ford to cooperate on open software standards for the interaction between smartphones and vehicles; Audi to acquire Silvercar; ZF acquires stake in Astyx Communications & Sensors; Sumitomo Rubber to acquire UK tire distributor Micheldever; Intel and NavInfo to acquire minority shareholdings in HERE; Panasonic to acquire an additional stake in Ficosa International SA; and Japanese JTEKT Corporation to acquire stake in Sona Koya Steering Systems.
  • Antitrust: China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to increase antitrust enforcement efforts in 2017; European Commission fines car air-conditioning and engine-cooling cartel; Japanese executive pleads guilty to obstructing justice; Kieckert to plead guilty for bid-rigging in auto parts probe; Shenzen Autel settles litigation with GM, files lawsuit against Ford Motor (China) Inc. in China; and Mitsubishi fined for manipulation of fuel consumption data in Japan.
  • Regulatory: Takata Corporation agrees to plead guilty in defective airbags case; National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) closes investigation into crash by autopilot system; California to loosen regulations for testing driverless cars; Trump administration to review Obama’s self-driving car guidance; and Roundup: Recent defeat device developments.
  • Intellectual Property: Microsoft licenses connected-vehicle patents to Toyota; and GM identifies wireless car technology needs to FCC.