I was grateful to be invited to the 4th Annual Business & Law Update for the Automotive Sector, hosted by The Motor Ombudsman in co-operation with Radius Law. Passing the Palace of Westminster in the early-morning May sunshine, iced coffee in hand, I was enthusiastic for the day.
Iain Larkins of Radius Law kicked us off by outlining the “seismic changes” that the sector has undergone in the last year. Concerns about the global tariff situation were near the top of the list of issues, as were increasingly complicated regulations for the industry, fines imposed by the EU Commission on manufacturers for restricting green advertising, and tightening international competition for electric vehicles in the attractive UK market.
Iain also highlighted the Intellectual Property Office’s new ‘Fake Always Breaks’ campaign. The campaign aims to educate consumers of the risks of counterfeit vehicle parts – especially important for safety-critical components. Research estimated that in 2016, counterfeit vehicle parts imported to the UK were worth almost £1billion, underscoring the opportunity for manufactures to understand and protect their IP rights.
Rob Elder of the Bank of England acknowledged that the Automotive sector was one of the most impacted by the present climate, noting investment hesitancy as one of the factors slowing market growth. However, he was quietly optimistic that the economy was on track for target inflation by late 2026, which should improve conditions for the industry as households begin to feel better off.
Turning to technology, in the panel discussion about ‘Introducing AI: the good, the bad, and the ugly’, our own Dehns partner Tim Wilson outlined various opportunities and risks, including the risk of over-investing in flashier AI features at the cost of overlooking “shallow learning” opportunities that might have far-reaching effects on things like predictive maintenance. Overall though, the panel agreed that AI is a “good news story for the automotive industry”, and there was genuine optimism about the prospect of truly self-driving vehicles – even a sprinkling of self-driving cars on our motorways is enough to make concertina traffic jams a thing of the past!
During the session on ‘The Changing Automotive Marketplace’ the focus was squarely on electric vehicles. Vicky Read of Charge UK explained that the existing UK infrastructure is sufficient for the number of electric vehicles we currently have, and if we keep progressing at the current rate it will remain sufficient as uptake of EVs increases. The growth of Chinese EV brands is evidence of the appeal of the UK market, not least because of the lack of import tariffs (a contrast with both the EU and the US). I ended the session having reinforced my belief that the UK is well-placed to benefit from the burgeoning EV market.
Overall, I was left with an impression of challenges to be faced by the automotive sector, but also with a sense of optimism for the opportunities to come. To my patent attorney’s eye, a manufacturers firm grasp of their IP rights is one of the solutions to an increasingly competitive and changing market.
(Partner, Tim Wilson speaking on the far right)