A level playing field for vehicle data access

The coalition, which includes publishers of technical information, body repairers, dealers and workshops, garage equipment suppliers, tyre manufacturers, road patrols, parts distributors, leasing and rental companies, as well as consumers, have provided technical, legal and commercial arguments sustaining their recommendation in the document “Creating a level playing field for vehicle data access: Secure On-board Telematics Platform Approach”. It is the only solution guaranteeing true consumer choice, effective competition and independent entrepreneurship in a secure and technology-neutral manner.

With the advent of the connected car, competition now starts in the vehicle where the ability to safely and securely access car data, functions and resources determines the quality of the service. The intention of the S-OTP is therefore to ensure that consumers can still choose and rely on service providers, many of them SMEs, to benefit from innovative, competitive and affordable services and products, improving road mobility, safety and sustainability. To do so, service providers have to be able to compete with all mobility stakeholders, some of whom might be tempted to act as “gatekeepers” through proprietary access methods to in-vehicle data.

Building upon two previous Manifestos published in 2018 and 2019, the S-OTP concept is in line with the European institutions’ ambitious goals to foster innovation and legislate in a way that works for the modern economy. The initial concept has been enriched to take into account the increased (cyber-)security requirements, by including certification of service providers and a robust approach to the development of secure applications, which consumers and operators can choose to install in their vehicles.

The coalition of associations has fed this concept into the study conducted by TRL on behalf of the European Commission, and invite the European legislators to take into account this detailed and complete solution (which enables consumers, vehicles and independent businesses to go smarter, safer, greener) when assessing legislative options.