Meanwhile, carmakers and industry players are fighting over access to valuable “in-vehicle data”.
The European Commission is working on a regulatory scheme to ensure “fair access” to valuable car data for companies and industry but does not know when they will be ready, according to a report in Reuters.
The Commission is coming under increasing pressure from industry groups to complete their drafting of the rules quickly, the report adds. This is because car service providers like insurers, leasing companies and repair shops fear that they are already facing “unfair competition” from US and Chinese companies who are already signing deals with carmakers.
The data from the connected car segment is hugely valuable Reuters says, noting that consultancy Fortune Business Insights says the market could grow to 250 billion-400 billion euros by 2030.
Two groups competing for access to the data
Carmakers are hoping to use the data to generate revenue from software products and subscription services utilizing intelligence based on everything from driving habits to fuel consumption and tyre wear. The tech companies want to have access in order to develop products and services in partnership with auto manufacturers.
The two factions find themselves at odds because data ownership is not clearly defined in EU law. The Commission has committed itself to address the matter in a revised draft of its proposed EU Data Act, which first appeared in February 2022. But the EU executive is still not able to say when such a new draft will be ready.
“At this stage we cannot prejudge the content of the final impact assessment and subsequent timeline for adoption”, an EC spokesperson told Reuters.
Europeans are trailing the US and China
Unfortunately for European car services companies, the delay means they are falling behind their global competitors.
Google, for example, has already cut a deal with General Motors to develop infotainment systems for future electric vehicles as the US carmaker plans to phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto technologies. The US tech giant also partnered with Stuttgart-based Mercedes Benz to offer traffic information and automatic rerouting in its cars.
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