In-vehicle data access being studied by regulators

January 2021

As the quantity of in-vehicle data continues to increase, new opportunities are expanding and many different stakeholders have an interest in accessing this data. The European Commission has decided to undertake a study to assess the possible development of a legal framework for vehicle data access, following Leaseurope’s lobbying efforts on the topic.

Cars driving with data foreground

Effective mobility solutions need data

Current and new mobility services have a great reliance on remote access to in-vehicle data and it is crucial to ensure that players from the motor vehicle aftermarket have fair access to vehicle information to provide diagnostics, repair and maintenance, among other services. A clear regulatory framework is needed also to smoothly provide future mobility services (e.g. Mobility as a Service).

Focus of regulators on data access

In 2018, the European Commission announced they would assess regulatory options on services based on data generated by vehicles, including remote repair and maintenance, with a target date for adoption of a Commission proposal in Q1 2021. In February 2020, a specific initiative on in-vehicle data access was included in their Automotive Work Programme and their views on empowering society to make better decisions through data sharing and to make Europe an agile data economy were clearly expressed in their European strategy for data. The European Commission’s work has slowed down in certain areas due to the COVID-19 crisis and the major effort put into addressing its health and economic consequences. However, the work on this key issue for our industry has continued as digitalisation and data sharing remain a top priority for policymakers.

Communication on connected and automated mobility (CAM)

2020-2021 Automotive Work Programme

European strategy for data

A new study to make recommendations

The European Commission has now contracted TRL and fka to conduct a study on their behalf which will assess the viability of a new legal framework for in-vehicle data access, as well as look at amending rules related to Remote and Maintenance Information (RMI) and On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) to enable aftermarket and mobility competition. Leaseurope contributed to the stakeholder consultation in support of the study, where we underlined that enhanced access to in-vehicle data for all services needs to be rolled out in the coming years and data availability needs to be clarified upfront. We stressed that data is important to monitor electric vehicles/battery status and charging infrastructure information, a level playing field is needed between authorized repairers and independent repairers, and that standardisation and interoperability would need to be encouraged. TRL and fka are expected to consolidate a report of stakeholder inputs to be submitted to the Commission in February this year.

In the interim, the Alliance for the Freedom of Car Repair (AFCAR), of which Leaseurope is a member, has organised a presentation to be given by our technical experts to TRL representatives to better clarify the technical aspects of what an ideal solution would look like in practice. The presentation covers different aspects ranging from the business model and security access standards to the roles and responsibilities the various stakeholders would have in the data environment.

TRL study website