Brussels, 9 December 2016. The undersigned are united in their concern that consumers’ interest are not being  placed at the centre of discussions around the possible technical solutions to access  invehicle  data.  In  addition  to  undermining free consumer choice, the solution promoted by some stakeholders would also undermine competition, innovation and independent entrepreneurship.

European  parts suppliers and vehicle manufacturers  recently  presented a common  technical architecture to  access in-vehicle data. This approach  would channel all future communication and data access through the vehicle manufacturer’s proprietary server. Only part of the data generated would then be sent to a ‘neutral server’  and be accessible for independent operators. This solution – which would be based on the Extended Vehicle – would not allow direct communication with the vehicle and still grantsvehicle manufacturers full control to decide how, when and to whom (mainly aggregated) data access will be granted.

Our broad industry coalition believes this solution undermines vehicle owners’ right to decide who they share  their  data  with  and  for  what  purposes.  We also consider this to be a serious threat to competition, innovation and consumer choice in the digital era. Today, vehicle manufacturers and their partner suppliers now compete on the market for a wide range of vehicle-related services  and products (e.g. financial, leasing, insurances, diagnostics, replacement parts  etc.)  that are increasingly reliant on real time in-vehicle data. In this new digital age, it is not sufficient to only have direct access to the invehicle data only through  an interoperable physical interface - a digital communication lifeline is also needed.

Ensuring safety and security is crucial for the deployment of connected vehicles and we believe that an ‘in-vehicle interoperable, standardised, secure and open-access platform’ is the right way forward. This solution would ensure the same  high level of safety, security, liability and data protection as the vehicle manufacturers’ solution, whilst safeguarding competition, innovation and consumer choice.  It could be based on the existing vehicle manufacturers’  telematics systems and use the highest possible security standards. Many manufacturers allow chosen partners to operate their own systems and applications in their vehicles today, thus showing that safe and secure direct access is possible without interfering with the vehicle’s functions.