Connected Car Tech From China Faces US Ban

The U.S. is reportedly readying a ban on Chinese technology in connected and autonomous cars.

That prohibition — borne of national security concerns — from the U.S. Commerce Department is expected on Monday (Sept. 23), Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

Those sources said the proposal would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware.

The report noted that the White House has raised concerns that Chinese companies could collect data on American drivers, or that foreign governments could manipulate vehicles connected to the internet and navigation systems.

Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned of the potential threats from Chinese software or hardware in connected U.S. vehicles.

“You can imagine the most catastrophic outcome theoretically if you had a couple million cars on the road and the software were disabled,” she said.

As noted here earlier this year, the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) has projected that there will be 100 million connected vehicles on the road next year, with data transmissions between vehicles and the cloud adding up to about 10 exabytes per month — equivalent to 10 billion gigabytes.

A 2021 report by the AECC stressed the unique challenges posed by connected vehicles, arguing that for these cars, “the amount of uploaded data is massive, concentrated (in time and location) and often time sensitive.”

In other automotive tech news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month about the way that generative artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a major driver of innovation in vehicle design and development.

The technology, that report said, lets engineers quickly explore numerous design variations, optimizing things like vehicle aesthetics and performance attributes.

“This shift is supported by compelling industry data,” PYMNTS wrote. “Consider 93% of automotive stakeholders agree that generative AI will significantly impact the industry and 75% plan to integrate it into their operations within the year.”

The generative AI market in the automotive sector is forecast to balloon from $335 million last year to $2.6 billion by 2033, which translates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23%.

“This anticipated growth underscores a commitment to the technology among research and development departments, with nearly 70% of decision-makers prioritizing its adoption,” PYMNTS wrote.