European Union: European Commission industrial action plan for European automotive sector including provisions on autonomous driving was adopted (COM(2025)9)

On 5 March 2025, the European Commission adopted the industrial action plan for the European automotive sector including provisions on autonomous driving. The plan aims to support the industry's transition towards clean, connected, and automated mobility while addressing competitiveness challenges. To accelerate the market readiness and commercialisation of autonomous vehicles, the Commission aims to establish at least three large-scale cross-border testbeds and regulatory sandboxes by 2026. These testbeds will facilitate at-scale pilot deployments of autonomous vehicles for both passenger and goods transport. The Commission is also committed to developing a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles, starting with the approval of unlimited series of vehicles with automated parking systems in 2025 and expanding to more use cases, such as hub-to-hub freight transport, by 2026. Harmonised admission approval procedures will be proposed in early 2026 to streamline the testing of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems (ADS) on public roads across the EU. The European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance will be launched to foster collaboration among European stakeholders in developing shared software and hardware components for connected and automated vehicles. Further, the Commission will follow up on an ongoing cybersecurity risk assessment under the NIS2 Directive, potentially incorporating measures into the regulatory framework for motor vehicles.