Connected, Self-Driving Autos May Lead to More EVs, EEI Panel Told; Free Trade Sought

Deploying autonomous and connected cars will lead to higher penetration of electric vehicles, an Edison Electric Institute event was told Friday. Representatives from automakers, including General Motors and Nissan, said goals include cutting traffic congestion and accidents, along with vehicle emissions. Launching autonomous vehicles will bring electric vehicles into higher-profile public view and "really pushes the EV forward," said Dan Turton, GM vice president-North American policy. Mentioning a semi-autonomous driving feature amid Nissan's goal of "intelligent mobility," Michael Arbuckle, senior manager-EV sales and marketing strategy, said the manufacturer is "also going to enhance" autonomy and connectivity in its vehicles. After saying to audience laughter that "frankly, I am happy to be talking about anything besides trade policy," Bryan Jacobs, BMW vice president-government and external affairs, said in Q&A that "open and free trade is a formula for success." Components that go into vehicles "have to be unencumbered as they move from one place to another," he added. "We are all in on this. We are unapologetically free traders. ... The trading regime that’s currently in place is really beneficial to companies like ours." An Energy Department official later sought to describe the outlook "to increase affordable mobility choices." There are "a wide range of futures due to autonomy and interconnectivity," Alex Fitzsimmons, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office chief of staff, said of diverse forecasts related to energy usage: "We’re all striving toward the same goal of affordable mobility for all."