Access to in-vehicle data & resources

AFCAR fully supports the Data Act and its principles. It will be an important piece of legislation which establishes the rights of Users to access the data they generate from their connected products and to entrust these data to a service provider of their choice (of course subject to the GDPR).

We believe that the Data Act represents a significant step towards a more competitive European Data Economy and that it is crucial to unlock the value of data generated by connected products and related services for a more innovative mobility ecosystem. As such, AFCAR urges the European co-legislators to fully maintain the key principles and provisions for access to and sharing of data in the final Act.

Companies representing 4.5 million jobs in the automotive sector across Europe have welcomed a very positive exchange with the European Commission on ensuring innovation in the automotive and mobility sector as European regulators set the rules that will define the industry for at least a decade to come.

The AFCAR coalition welcomes the principles and underlying objectives of the Data Act, particularly with regard to the regulation of B2C and B2B data sharing. We fully endorse the principle of the data sovereignty of Users of connected products, including their right to assign access to the data generated through the use of their products to third party service providers of their choice.

A broad coalition representing a wide range of major automotive aftermarket stakeholders, as well as operators in the mobility services value chain, consumers, the insurance and the tyre industries welcomes today’s publication of the proposal by the European Commission for a European Union’s Data Act.

Making Europe fit for the Digital Age” was one of the strategic priorities expressed by President von der Leyen for the 2019-2024 period. We applaud the regulatory building blocks, underpinning Europe’s digital leadership that you have advanced, which seek to preserve the highest level of privacy, security, safety, and ethical standards that Europeans deserves. The forthcoming Data Act will complete the “data family” and establish important overall data transaction principles for all of Europe’s IoT sectors, mobility included.

Ahead of the European Commission’s Workshop on “Access to In-Vehicle Data” on 17 September 2021, a broad coalition representing automotive aftermarket operators, vehicle dealers, mobility services and consumers urges the European Commission to publish an ambitious legislative proposal on access to in-vehicle data by the first quarter of 2022 at the latest.

A large coalition representing the automotive aftermarket and consumers is calling on the European Union to take on board its proposal for a Secure On-board Telematics Platform (S-OTP) when legislating on access to in-vehicle data. In the detailed document, “Creating a level playing field for vehicle data access: Secure On-board Telematics Platform Approach”, publishers of technical information, body repairers, dealers and workshops, garage equipment suppliers, tyre manufacturers, road patrols, parts distributors and leasing and rental companies, as well as consumers, provide technical and commercial arguments sustaining their recommendation.

The emergence of the connected vehicle provides a unique opportunity for the creation of a European Single Market for automotive and mobility services. Putting European consumers in control of access to their vehicle’s data and facilitating their ability to choose their preferred service provider are key enablers of such a market. Ensuring equal opportunities for independent service providers to access to in-vehicle data, functions and resources will also help foster innovation & effective competition and will support the growth of European technology companies and competitive SMEs, while better serving the needs of European consumers.

The emergence of the connected vehicle provides a unique opportunity for the creation of a European Single Market for automotive and mobility services. Putting European consumers in control of access to their vehicle’s data and facilitating their ability to choose their preferred service provider are key enablers of such a market. Ensuring equal opportunities for independent service providers to access to in-vehicle data, functions and resources will also help foster innovation & effective competition and will support the growth of European technology companies and competitive SMEs, while better serving the needs of European consumers.

The Report assesses how the personal data protection and privacy legal framework applies in relation to car connectivity. It also identifies and analyses areas which might present challenges and opportunities to the stakeholders involved in the automotive markets linked to connected vehicles, including whether the conditions under which original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) collect, process and make their data available to third parties might create disadvantages to independent service providers (“ISPs”). Last, it provides policy recommendations on how to empower consumers through legislation.

The secure On-board Telematics Platform (OTP), presented in the study, ensures a balance between access to in-vehicle data and functions on one hand, and a state-of-the-art level of security on the other. In the OTP, the administration of access to in-vehicle data is performed by an independent and neutral administrator, respecting the separation-of-duties principle. The OTP model solves, therefore, one of the main flaws of the Extended Vehicle model, where vehicle manufacturers, acting as both service providers and data controllers, maintain full control of the automotive aftermarket, hindering competition and innovation as they become data monopolists.

Today, vehicle manufacturers are developing their own models to allow service providers to remotely access vehicle data with fundamental challenges including access costs and data restrictions. The study finds that in less than a decade, such models could lead to consumers and independent service providers having to absorb costs of around €65 billion per year by 2030. The study also finds that European motorists see the benefits of car connectivity – almost 70% of drivers, for instance, are willing to have their cars fixed remotely, rather than having a physical inspection at a garage.

Car manufacturers face competition in car markets and aftersales services. However, they can design the car data architecture to ensure their exclusive access to the data. That would give them a monopoly in the market for car data from their brand. They can use this to increase their leverage on aftersales services markets. The baseline scenario is the Extended Vehicle proposal that manufacturers prefer. This ensures their data access monopoly and enables them to maximizes revenue from data and data-driven aftersales services. It reduces welfare for drivers and aftersales service providers.