Independent Service Providers (ISP) group welcomes the Data Act entry into application, but cautions against deregulation

Section:

Innovation & Enterprise

The Independent Service Providers (ISP) group welcomes the official entry into application of the Data Act today, 12 September 2025, and acknowledges the publication of the sector-specific Guidance Document for the automotive industry. These are important milestones for Europe’s digital transition and a crucial step towards fair and transparent data-sharing in the automotive sector.

The Data Act establishes important principles: it gives users of IoT devices rights over the data they generate, ensures that such data can be shared with third parties of their choice, and sets obligations on data holders to make information transparent and accessible. For the automotive aftermarket, an efficient application of the Act is particularly relevant, as it provides a horizontal legal framework to begin addressing the challenges of fair access to vehicle-generated data.

The Data Act thereby intends to give fair access to vehicle data to secure competition, support innovation, promote the development of competitive European connected mobility services and ensure consumers benefit from affordable and sustainable mobility services.

Simplification must not mean deregulation

While supporting genuine efforts to streamline compliance, ISPs caution against calls to recast the Data Act as voluntary or weaken core obligations under the auspices of reducing administrative burdens notably through the upcoming Digital Omnibus.

Such approaches risk undermining the very objectives of the Act:

For independent service providers, the real barrier to competitive digital mobility services is not paperwork, but restricted access to vehicle data. Diluting the Data Act would entrench market asymmetries, benefiting only a handful of dominant players.
Voluntary frameworks cannot substitute binding rules where structural imbalances exist, as experience in the automotive sector has already demonstrated.

Simplification must not be mistaken for deregulation. To foster trust, ensure legal certainty, and enable all businesses – particularly SMEs – to compete and innovate, Europe requires clear and enforceable rules.

Effective enforcement is key

The ISP group is also concerned by indications that the Data Act might be implemented with only “soft” enforcement. Without robust and harmonised oversight across Member States, the rights and obligations enshrined in the Data Act risk remaining only on paper.

ISPs therefore call on the European Commission and Member States to:

Ensure that enforcement is consistent, strong and effective across the Union;
Safeguard the integrity of the Data Act from attempts to reopen or dilute it through upcoming legislative packages;
Recognise the Act as the first step towards sector-specific legislation (SSL) to fully address the challenges of fair in-vehicle data access.

The ISP group reaffirms its commitment to working constructively with policymakers, businesses and stakeholders to build a competitive, innovative and consumer-oriented automotive ecosystem underpinned by fair access to vehicle data, and intends to make use of the legislative instrument provided by the European Commission while reporting on its practical implementation.

The Undersigning Associations

ADPA – AIRC – CECRA – CLEPA – EGEA – ETRMA – FIA – FIGIEFA – Insurance Europe – Leaseurope

	ADPA – the European Independent Data Publishers Association aims to ensure fair access to automotive data and information and to provide competitive framework conditions for independent data publishers. This will allow the publishers to be able to design and provide competitive, innovative and multi-brand products and services to operators of the automotive aftermarket. Contact: Pierre Thibaudat - Director General - pierre.thibaudat@adpa.eu [1] - tel: +32 2 761 95 18.
	AIRC - stands for Association Internationale des Réparateurs en Carrosserie. Formed in 1970, the AIRC is the global federation of leading national organisations in the area of vehicle repairs. These member organisations together represent more than 50,000 vehicle repair and vehicle builder companies in many countries. Contact: Thomas Aukamm - Managing Director - aukamm@zkf.de [2] - tel: +49 6031 79479-0.
	CECRA - the European Council for Motor Trades and Repairs – is the European umbrella association of the motor trade and repair sector, representing the interests of franchised dealers/agents of passenger cars and trucks, authorised repairers and independent repairers. In Europe there is a total of 46,720 vehicle and truck dealers and 290,000 repairers. Those – predominantly small and medium-sized – companies employ approximately 2.9 million people, being responsible for the sale of almost 16 million new vehicles a year, as well as the repair and maintenance of the 228 million existing passenger vehicles and 38.5 million commercial vehicles. Contact: Carine De Wit – Operations Manager – carine.dewit@cecra.eu [3]
	CLEPA - the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, represents over 3,000 companies supplying state-of-the-art components and innovative technologies for safe, smart, and sustainable mobility. CLEPA brings together over 120 global suppliers of car parts, systems, and modules and more than 20 national trade associations and European sector associations. CLEPA is the voice of the EU automotive supplier industry linking the sector to policy makers. The automotive sector accounts for 30% of R&D in the EU, making it the number one investor. European automotive suppliers invest over 30 billion euros yearly in research and development. Automotive suppliers register over 9,000 new patents each year. Automotive suppliers in Europe generate 1.7 million direct jobs. Contact: Benjamin Krieger - Secretary General - b.krieger@clepa.be [4] - tel: +32 2 743 91 30.
	EGEA - the European Garage and Test Equipment Association represents both manufacturers and importers of tools and equipment for the repair, servicing and technical inspection of vehicles, as an integral part of supporting the automotive industrial value chain. Its role is to ensure that its associations’ members can provide the best equipment and service to the automotive aftermarket by striving to keep members up-to-date concerning new vehicle technologies and legislative and standardisation requirements and thus be competitive in the garage and test equipment supply, service and calibration industry. Contact: Marcin Barankiewicz - Secretary General - sg@egea-association.eu [5]
	ETRMA is the voice of tyre and rubber goods producers to various European institutions. ETRMA activities focus on the following key interdependent areas: representation, co-ordination, communication, promotion and technical liaison. The primary objective of ETRMA is to represent the regulatory and related interests of the European tyre and rubber manufacturers at both European and international levels. ETRMA is the sole interlocutor, specifically designated by the European tyre and rubber producers to carry out this critical task. Contact: Adam McCarthy - Secretary General - a.mccarthy@etrma.org [6] - tel: + 32 2 218 49 40.
	FIA Region I Founded in 1904, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) brings together leading national motoring organisations from 146 countries worldwide and is the governing body for world motor sport. The FIA Region I office, based in Brussels, is a consumer body comprising 100 Mobility Clubs that represent over 40 million members from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Contact: Diogo Pinto - Policy Director and Acting Director General- dpinto@fia.com [7] - tel: +32 (2) 282 08 12.
	FIGIEFA is the international federation of independent automotive aftermarket distributors. Its members represent independent distributors and wholesalers of automotive replacement parts and components and their associated repair chains. The 44,000 companies represented employ over 350,000 people in Europe in their 64,000 outlets, spread across Europe. Many of these companies are SMEs. FIGIEFA’s aim is to maintain free and effective competition in the market for vehicle replacement parts, servicing and repair. Contact: Sylvia Gotzen - CEO - sylvia.gotzen@figiefa.eu [8] - tel: +32 2 761 9510.
	Insurance Europe is the European insurance and reinsurance federation. Through its 39 members — the national insurance associations — it represents all types and sizes of insurance and reinsurance undertakings. Insurance Europe, which is based in Brussels, represents undertakings that account for around 95% of total European premium income. Insurance makes a major contribution to Europe’s economic growth and development. European insurers pay out over €1 000bn annually — or €2.8bn a day — in claims, directly employ more than 920 000 people and invest over €10.6trn in the economy. Contact: Nicolas Jeanmart - jeanmart@insuranceeurope.eu [9] - +32 485 893031.
	Leaseurope - the European Federation of Leasing Company Associations- represents both the leasing and automotive rental industries in Europe. The scope of products covered by Leaseurope members’ ranges from hire purchase and finance leases to operating leases of all asset categories (automotive, equipment and real estate). It also includes the short-term rental of cars, vans and trucks. Contact: Richard Knubben - Director-General - r.knubben@leaseurope.com [10] - tel: +32 2 778 05 68.