EU plans rules for fair access to connected car data

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission is working on rules to ensure fair access to valuable car data for companies and industry but does not know when they will be ready, a spokesperson said on Monday as industry groups fret about unfair competition from U.S. and Chinese tech companies.

The huge potential of the connected car market, which consultancy Fortune Business Insights says could grow to as much as 400 billion euros ($435 billion) by 2030, has triggered a fight between carmakers and industrial users on access to vehicle data.

Carmakers are looking to data-driven software products and subscription services covering everything from driving habits to fuel consumption and tyre wear as the next money spinner.

Data ownership, however, is not clearly defined in EU law, resulting in the current dispute between carmakers and those who want to access it.

"The Commission is working on the preparation of a sector-specific proposal on in-vehicle data. It will aim to complement the proposal for a Data Act, published in February 2022," a spokesperson for the EU executive told Reuters in an email.

"At this stage we cannot prejudge the content of the final impact assessment and subsequent timeline for adoption."

Car services groups last week piled pressure on the Commission to come up with a legislative proposal as U.S. tech companies such as Google struck deals with General Motors and Mercedes Benz.

ACEA, the European automakers’ lobbying group, said last month in a position paper that it was “concerned that some of the provisions of (the February 2022) proposal go too far by imposing requirements that are simply unworkable.”

It acknowledged the right of consumers to own and share their vehicle data, but said that requirements in the Data Act proposal “will create legal uncertainty as to how business-sensitive data will be handled and further shared once it is disclosed.

“This will likely have a discouraging effect on the quantity and quality of the data that businesses gather and process,” ACEA added.

The European dealers and service providers group CECRA said last month that the Data Act as drafted “is not sufficient to create effective competition in data-driven automotive and mobility services.”

The proposal gives vehicle users the right to claim access to such data and share it with third parties such as repair shops, CECRA noted in a position paper, but it added that automakers have access to the vehicle’s functions and resources that independent service providers do not. 

“This prevents independent service providers to develop and offer compelling and affordable services to end-users on a level playing field,” the group said.