Vehicle connectivity
Access to in-vehicle data enables many beneficial developments like car sharing, MaaS, optimised repair services and personalised insurance tailoring.
Sharing of in-vehicle data is essential to enhance competition and innovation, ensuring free consumer choice by enabling the leasing and rental industry to provide mobility services under the same terms and conditions as vehicle manufacturers. As legal owners of the vehicles, lessors should have direct access to in-vehicle data and bi-directional communication functions between the vehicle and the driver as manufacturers do (e.g. via the in-vehicle display).
Why do leasing and rental firms need data
Value adding data for the leasing and rental industry includes vehicle location, health status (sufficient oil/fuel, status of brakes, etc.), driving pattern data (for insurance services), etc. This would allow the following:
- remote monitoring for more efficient fleet management, reducing the number of vehicles required and thus reducing costs and environmental impact
- Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and all new mobility initiatives which require real-time information
- Opportunities for governments to improve urban pollution through access to real-time vehicle data like fuel consumption values
Leaseurope engages with European decision-makers to guarantee a level playing field regarding access to in-vehicle data in the automotive value chain. We need a legal and regulatory framework which is future-proof and allows pre-verified/certified applications to be safely implemented in the vehicle. True consumer choice can be enhanced through decentralised direct communications with the vehicle, allowing multiple service providers to present value adding offers that can be directly authorised by the driver (in compliance with GDPR).
Leaseurope supports the European Commission’s ongoing review of type-approval legislation including how to regulate access to in-vehicle data. As a key stakeholder, Leaseurope is a member of European Commission expert groups working on these topics, including the Motor Vehicle Working Group and the Cooperative, Connected, Automated and Autonomous Mobility (CCAM) Platform. Additionally, Leaseurope monitors the work of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on cybersecurity through their Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles.
Key priorities
The main priorities of the leasing and automotive rental industry include the following:
- Direct access to the vehicle’s data, functions and communications with the driver for owners (i.e. leasing and rental firms)
- Bi-directional communication with the vehicle and driver, which is a requirement for any mobility service
- Technology neutral solutions with non-discriminatory pricing to enable a level playing field between vehicle manufacturers and independent service providers
What is AFCAR
The Alliance for the Freedom of Car Repair (AFCAR) consists of 7 EU automotive aftermarket industries representing motoring consumers, leasing and rental firms, the motor lubricant industry, test equipment and diagnostic tool manufacturers, parts wholesalers, data publishers as well as authorised independent repairers amongst others.
Its aim is to promote free competition and fair access to technical information across the automotive value chain, including all functions that allow multi-brand market operators to offer competitive repair and maintenance services to consumers and duty vehicles operators in the EU.