Automotive & New Mobility

The automotive industry is in a state of fundamental upheaval. Tougher requirements concerning environmental sustainability, digitalisation, and changing mobility requirements mean new challenges for the industry’s existing business models.

Digitalisation opens up new mobility concepts, with the possibility of autonomous driving and networked cars, but at the same time entails risks such as the software being infected by viruses or car-hacking. Mobility concepts such as car sharing are growing in importance. Nowadays, automotive manufacturers offer not only vehicles but also multimodal mobility services. In the distribution sector, automotive manufacturers are faced with the challenge of linking offline and online trading. This entails restructuring the conventional organisation of sales and distribution and taking into account new legal possibilities for structuring these processes.

In practice these developments present great challenges. We are ready and able to help you meet these challenges so that you are in a position to make the right decisions, minimise risks, and make the most of new opportunities.

Contacts

Dr A. Dominik Wendel

Co-Head of Brussels Office, Rechtsanwalt (Lawyer)
T +32 2 2745570

>>Show Team

Our Services

We offer companies in the automotive industry sector-specific solutions for every situation and every project along the development, production, supply and distribution chains. We advise not only in special situations – such as the national and international development and expansion of markets and production facilities or refinancing, restructuring and product liability and recall cases – but also on questions arising in your day-to-day business.

Our areas of expertise include:

ESTABLISHMENT OF PRODUCTION FACILITIES (GREENFIELD AND BROWNFIELD PROJECTS)

Comprehensive advice and support with respect to greenfield and brownfield projects:

Selecting the location
Incorporating and setting up companies and subsidiaries
Joint ventures
Advising and assisting you in negotiations with local and national authorities
Approval and authorisation proceedings
State aid proceedings before the European Commission
Support in applying for funding
Advising on compliance with relevant provisions for investment grants
Disinvestments

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND R&D PROJECTS, LICENCES

Technology transfer, drafting and negotiating license agreements
Drafting and negotiating R&D contracts, representing clients in publically funded projects
Intellectual property in supply agreements
Infringement proceedings (patent, trademark, design), FTO analyses

For further information see Intellectual Property & Media.

M&A TRANSACTIONS

Sale and purchase of companies
Structuring and financing
Distressed M&A
Post-M&A integration
Joint ventures

For further information see Mergers & Acquisitions.

COMPLIANCE

Compliance management systems
HR compliance health checks
Internal investigations
Defending clients against compliance breaches

For further information see Compliance & Investigations.

IT

Data protection (e.g. infection of software with viruses, or car-hacking)
Digitalisation (e.g. autonomous driving and connected cars)
Outsourcing

For further information see IT, Outsourcing & Data Privacy.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ALONG THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN

Compliance with environmental standards (e.g. the German Fuel Efficiency Labelling of Passenger Cars Regulations)
Emission control law

For further information see Regulatory & Governmental Affairs.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND DISTRIBUTION LAW

Holistic consideration of distribution, logistical and fulfilment processes
Setting up, implementing, structuring and restructuring distribution systems
Drafting and negotiating distribution agreements (agreements with authorised dealers, service partners and sales representatives, etc.) and supplier agreements
Organising, preparing and assisting in notices of termination due to restructuring
Examining the effectiveness of clauses in agreements with authorised dealers and service partners, sales representatives and suppliers
Advising on and, if applicable, preparing notices of termination
Advising on entries into markets
Advising on exits from markets

For further information see Commerce & Trade.

EMPLOYMENT

Employment law compliance, in particular use of external staff and social security law
Drafting employment contracts and achieving flexible working conditions
Designing arrangements under company and collective agreements
Organising and assisting in restructuring
Preparing and structuring secondments to and from Germany
Matters involving executive boards and directors
Company pension schemes

For further information see Employment & Pensions.

ANTITRUST

Providing support in antitrust proceedings and searches
German and European merger controls and competition compliance
Advising on horizontal and vertical cooperative ventures
Sales and distribution-related antitrust advice

For further information see Antitrust & Competition.

PRODUCT LIABILITY

Assessing and applying special rules for collaboration in the development, testing and mass production of vehicles
Reviewing the legal basis for cooperation in the supply chain
Advising on product recalls

For further information please click Litigation, Arbitration & ADR.

INSURANCE FOR PRODUCT LIABILITY AND RECALL COSTS

Examining and developing insurance solutions in the automotive industry
Providing insurance law related advice for events of loss or damage
Enforcing insurance claims

For further information please click Insurance & Reinsurance.

ENFORCING AND DEFENDING AGAINST ALL KINDS OF CLAIMS – BEFORE THE COURTS, ARBITRATION PANELS AND OTHERWISE

For further information please click Litigation, Arbitration & ADR.

RESTRUCTURING AND REGULATION

Advising on securing deliveries if the supplier is in financial difficulties
Advising on risks of claims for rescission during financial difficulties
Advising on the regulatory requirements concerning product design and product disposal
Advising on building regulation, construction planning and transport law issues

For further information see Restructuring & Insolvency and Regulatory & Governmental Affairs.

Your Benefits

During your projects you will benefit from our decades of experience in advising and representing a wide range of well-known companies with international operations from all fields in the automotive industry, both nationally and internationally.

We have assisted many German companies from the automotive industry in their successful expansion to Central and Eastern Europe as well as Russia. With our help, one automobile manufacturer succeeded in enforcing a nationwide restructuring of its distribution network with a one-year notice period in the proceedings, which went as far as the Federal Court of Justice, in the first case of its kind; in this way it was able to achieve a leaner and more efficient distribution structure. We are currently developing future multi-channel distribution systems for automotive manufacturers which completely realign sales of new cars, services and parts and accessories via own-distributor networks in Europe and which are setting new legal, technical and entrepreneurial benchmarks. This also applies to the advice on digitalisation in the automotive industry we are providing for a consortium of companies from the automotive and IT industries who are aiming to facilitate the global exchange of software on various control devices in and for cars, for example to create a worldwide international standard for autonomous driving.

During our work we deploy bespoke teams comprising experienced advisors and spanning the various areas of expertise and, where appropriate, countries. This often includes experts in company, sales, antitrust, trade mark and competition law as well as IT law and data protection (in connection with new digital business models). Where necessary, lawyers experienced in product liability, litigation and arbitration complete the team. Our “new mobility” specialists also advise you on the legal aspects of new mobility concepts such as electromobility. Thus we are able to cover all the legal issues relevant for you and your projects – never forgetting that legal solutions always have to be commercially sensible, workable and practical.

Regardless of how complex or ambitious the challenge may be, and whether or not an automotive group or mid-sized automotive supplier is involved, we always provide our clients with an in-depth analysis and clear and convincing recommendations for action. This applies wherever you need us – in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe and via our tried and tested relationships with recognised law firms worldwide.

SELECTED PROJECTS

Audi Business Innovation

Wide-ranging antitrust, sales cartel, financial, data protection and civil law advice on the formation and introduction of the company’s own pan-European online car rental platform (“Audi on demand”), including drafting and negotiating all online terms and conditions of use between AUDI as the platform operator and car hire companies and customers

Automobili Pininfarina

Assisting in the strategic planning and set-up of the European distribution network for battery electric (BEV) luxury passenger vehicles, drafting all motor vehicle distribution contracts (as European lead counsel), coordinating the worldwide distribution of the electric hypercar Pininfarina “Battista” (as lead counsel), drafting all the sales and service contracts for the Battista

Cadillac Europe

Advising on the introduction of an innovative customer programme in which previously authorised participants have access to cars in Cadillac’s fleet in return for a monthly flat fee and are able to rent and swap them depending on availability; drafting the terms and conditions of participation and advising on data privacy issues and tax aspects

Deutsche Post DHL Group

Providing patent-law advice and performing several extensive patent- and IP-related freedom-to-operate analyses for Deutsche Post DHL concerning its wholly owned subsidiary Streetscooter GmbH dealing with the development, production and market launch of the first-ever mass-produced electric transporter “Work”

HeyCar

Advising the new platform for sales and financing of used cars on all legal matters, including general terms and conditions of business, dealer cooperation agreement, data privacy statement, cooperation agreements with financial service providers and topics relating to German price quotation regulations, IT law, data protection law, IP law, employment law and company law

Hitachi Capital Corporation

Advising on the takeover of the Maske Group, a leading German service provider in the fields of car rental and fleet management services

Jaguar Land Rover Deutschland

Advising Jaguar Land Rover on the introduction of new standards and a new margin and bonus system; supporting it in the negotiations with the dealers’ association

MAGNA International

Providing ongoing advice to the global automotive supplier on product liability and recall cases, including legal advice on insurance matters

Mazda Motor Corp./Mazda Motor Europe

Advising on the planning and implementation of the first European pool of independent passenger car manufacturers (“open pool”) with Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA for the purpose of keeping to the CO2 limits for fleets in line with Regulation 443/2009; in this way, a joint CO2 fleet limit is to be formed across the whole fleet of all pooled carmakers; this offers low-emission carmakers the possibility to provide their unused CO2 flexibilities (CO2 credits) to other passenger car manufacturers

MOIA

Drafting all the contracts regarding the creation of the technical infrastructure for operating and offering ride-pooling in Hamburg using up to 1,000 fully electrified vehicles; advising on international cooperative ventures relating to ride-pooling

MOIA

Providing broad-based advice on the law regarding the transportation of passengers and licences under the German Act on Passenger Transportation for the company’s new mobility services in Hamburg and Hanover

Opel Automobile

Restructuring the distribution system in Europe, including preparing a pan-EU framework dealership agreement for introducing new retail formats and/or extending existing retail formats and conducting cross-European pilot proceedings before Frankfurt am Main Regional Court on the question of whether a car manufacturer is able to prohibit its authorised workshops from selling new vehicles of the brand concerned under competition law in order to protect the selective distribution system

Streetscooter

Advising the manufacturer of electric utility vehicles on drafting the importer, dealership and service partner agreements for Germany and other European countries

TRATON

Advising TRATON and its subsidiaries MAN Truck & Bus AG and Scania CV AB on the formation of strategic alliances with the HGV manufacturers Navistar, Inc. and Hino Motors, Ltd.

Triumph Motorrad Deutschland

Providing ongoing distribution-related advice, e.g. on the restructuring of the distribution channels in Germany and in relation to re-sale restrictions, compensation claims and notices of termination for cause

Volkswagen Financial Services

Advising on the takeover of LogPay Financial Services GmbH, a supplier of factoring services for logistics and public transport companies; through the takeover, VWFS will acquire exclusive control of LogPay Transport Services GmbH, a supplier of fuel and toll payment cards

What others say about us

Well-resourced offering with an outstanding presence across the commercial contracts field. Top choice among prestigious organisations for contract negotiations with distributors including purchase, supply and logistics agreements. Offers extensive experience in franchise systems, dealership systems and commercial agency law.
Chambers Europe 2018

(…) its traditionally all-round advice to auto manufacturers, where it is active in designing distribution law structures influenced by digital change. Here, the team advised Adam Opel on an online platform for dealers and manufacturers.
JUVE Handbook 2017/2018

A leading firm in distribution and franchising with one of the broadest advisory set-ups in the market. Its auto expertise is especially pronounced, as proven by the number of regular clients from the industry. It is supporting them in connection with the VW diesel scandal (…) as well as in terms of complicated future distribution projects.
JUVE Handbook 2016/2017

The practice has special expertise in the automotive sector, where it was possible to attract Daimler and FCA Germany, Fiat’s German importer, as new clients.
JUVE Handbook 2015/2016

Highly recommended practice covering the full range of commercial topics, including distribution systems, franchise law, supply agreements and logistics issues. Especially strong in the technology and automotive industries. Supported by noteworthy regulatory, competition and litigation teams.
Chambers Europe 2015

One of the leading outfits in distribution law, this firm has opened an office in Brussels. The distribution practice profits from this as the office is managed by Wendel, one of the leading specialists in auto distribution.
JUVE Handbook 2014/2015

A firm that continues to lead in franchising and distribution law and which even competitors have praised as a ‘very strong practice’ with an ‘innovative team’. (…) Strengths: A wealth of experience in the car manufacturing sector, legal representation in court, advice on international franchising, establishment of distribution structures in eastern Europe, particularly in Russia.
JUVE Handbook 2013/2014

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