Access to in-vehicle data & resources

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.