Connected Vehicle Restrictions and Model Year 2027
Published
Final rule in effect; phased compliance. Law checked through October 18, 2026.
Venice guarded its Arsenal so closely that a shipwright who carried its methods abroad could be hunted down. Great trading states have always distinguished between buying goods from abroad and letting foreigners into the machinery of the state. The Commerce Department's connected-vehicle rule draws that line inside the modern car, and its first deadline is close.
The Bureau of Industry and Security finalized the rule in January 2025, effective March 17, 2025, as Subpart D of 15 C.F.R. Part 791. It prohibits certain transactions in vehicle connectivity system hardware and in covered automated-driving and connectivity software where the supplier has a defined nexus to China or Russia. The software prohibitions begin with model year 2027; the hardware prohibitions begin with model year 2030, or January 1, 2029 for hardware not tied to a model year. Manufacturers owned or controlled by those countries face sale restrictions from model year 2027. Compliance runs through declarations of conformity, with general and specific authorizations available. Vehicles over 10,000 pounds fall outside the definition for now; BIS has said it will address commercial vehicles separately.
Model year 2027 vehicles can reach dealers during calendar 2026, so the software deadline is in practice already arriving. Texas assembles vehicles and builds autonomous-driving systems in Austin, San Antonio, and Arlington, and robotaxi fleets operate in Austin. For each, the immediate tasks are to map automated-driving and connectivity software to its developers and to keep the declaration records the rule requires.
Limits
The rule regulates transactions, not driving. It does not apply to heavy trucks under current text, and the FCC's separate robotics listing expressly excludes connected vehicles, so the two regimes should not be conflated.