Access to Data & Connectivity
Equal access to in-vehicle data
The only way to ensure fair competition, innovation and consumer’s freedom of choice in the European vehicle service industry of tomorrow
The uptake of ‘connected cars’
The ever increasing consumer’s need for connectivity alongside with the recent adoption of the ‘e-call Regulation’ have accelerated the deployment of the ‘connected car’ technology.
New opportunities for both consumers and businesses
The expected growth of the value from vehicle data and shared mobility has been estimated to more than 1.5 trillion USD by 2030. A very wide range of new data-enabled services (i.e. remote diagnostic, predictive maintenance, traffic information, usage-based insurance scheme, etc.) will be available for the drivers of tomorrow. This represents an unprecedented opportunity for those automotive dealers and repairers who constantly strive to provide their customers with the best possible quality of service. Big investments are being made by motor vehicle dealers and repairers in order to meet the rising customers’ expectations.
No innovation, no quality services without an equal access to in-vehicle data
However, it is important to highlight that: ‘there is no quality and innovative service without an equal access to in-vehicle data!’ A direct, unmonitored, unrestricted and real-time access to in-vehicle data is indeed a critical requirement for new data-enabled services. Going forward - given the increasing centrality of these new data-based services - fair competition, innovation and consumer’s freedom of choice will only be possible if such an equal access is guaranteed to all players in the vehicle service industry.
What are the current barriers to accessing in-vehicle data?
Nowadays, all in-vehicle telematics systems are being designed in such a way that only vehicle manufacturers are allowed to directly access in-vehicle generated data. This technical hurdle has turned vehicle manufacturers into de facto ‘owners’ of the in-vehicle data and is artificially restricting the fair competition, innovation and consumer’s freedom of choice. Furthermore, none of the technical solutions recently proposed by the vehicle manufacturers seem to effectively remove the current unjustified obstacles.
A Secure On-Board Telematics Platform (S-OTP) is THE only solution
for guaranteeing true consumer choice, effective competition and free entrepreneurship in a secure and technology-neutral manner
It addresses the challenges of true consumer choice, security and free entrepreneurship in the automotive services sector, the S-OTP is based on some key characteristics, such as:
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Consumer is in full control regarding the access to in-vehicle data;
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A clear separation of duties, with free management of access control for all service providers, including vehicle manufacturers;
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Unmonitored and undistorted communication between in-vehicle services and their respective back ends;
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Independent customer contract/direct consent management and service offering without the interposition of the vehicle manufacturer;
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Standardised access to in-vehicle networks via safe and secure software interfaces enabling bi-directional communication with the vehicle;
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The ability to safely interact with the driver through the vehicles human-machine interfaces.
It enables effective competition in the automotive aftermarket, the S-OTP would benefit consumers and society at large, by:
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Empowering consumers by ensuring their rights on privacy and widening their choice of service providers;
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Boosting innovation and facilitating the digital transformation of mobility and the deployment of a digital ecosystem of services;
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Contributing to the European Union’s path to become a frontrunner in connected and autonomous mobility and related services.
Extended report on the Secure On-board Telematics Platform Approach
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In order to allow European motor vehicle dealers and repairers to overcome the current hurdles in their way to access in-vehicle generated data, CECRA proposes the ‘On-Board Telematics Platform (S-OTP)’.
This technical solution consists of an interoperable, standardised and secure platform that will give motor vehicle dealers and repairers the opportunity to compete with vehicle manufacturers and other third parties in the new market of data-enabled services.
CECRA’s solution is the only viable one as it ensures a level playing field for all concerned third parties who want to invest in the creation of new data-related services to better meet the increasing expectations of the European consumers.
Our standpoint
A European legislative instrument is urgently needed
Looking at the most recent public statements of the European vehicle manufacturers, CECRA fears that the current artificial restrictions to free competition will hardly be spontaneously removed by themselves without an unambiguous intervention of the legislator.
Given the transnational scope of the vehicle manufacturers’ business activities we are aware that such a regulatory intervention cannot be made at national level.
CECRA calls for the urgent adoption of a EU legal framework mandating car makers to provide access to the necessary in-vehicle data:
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safely and securely
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in real time (which cannot be achieved by any extended/neutral server solution)
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directly and in an unrestricted way
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without supervision over the flow of data