US self-driving car companies accelerate growth as Trump administration lifts regulatory barriers, ET Auto reports.

The autonomous vehicle industry is facing scrutiny after a pedestrian was seriously injured by a General Motors Cruise vehicle in October 2023. The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has opened investigations into self-driving vehicles operated by Cruise, Waymo, and Zoox. The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, which represents companies such as Volkswagen, Ford, and Alphabet’s Waymo, is calling on the government to speed up the deployment of autonomous vehicles and remove barriers to adoption. The group is urging the USDOT to take a more active role in regulating the industry and to create a national AV safety data repository. They are also calling for Congress to clarify that human controls are unnecessary in automated vehicles that meet performance standards and to allow companies to disable manual controls. The industry is facing scrutiny, and the group is warning that China is determined to take the lead on autonomous vehicle technology if the US does not take action.