July 2020 Will regulation succeed in creating a level playing field in the continued battle for access to in-vehicle data? Webinar

As the ‘C’ in the so-called ‘ACES’ (alongside autonomy, electrification, and sharing), connectivity is seen as one of the major trends unfolding in the automotive sector, opening up the potential for safer and more integrated mobility, new services for the driver, and more efficient ways of catering for the car’s needs throughout its life.  Basic eCall functionality is now built into all new cars to help streamline the accident handling process, in-dashboard smartphone screen mirroring is a feature customers now expect to find even in cheaper models, and the rollout of 5G mobile networks will soon bring the bandwidth to enable the car truly to become an always-connected device within the ‘Internet of Things’.

In the emerging connected car ecosystem, the key resource, and the major topic of debate, is data – what should be collected (from the car, the driver, or the surrounding environment), by whom, who else should have access to it (and how), what uses could it be put to, and how should individuals’ rights be respected in the process?  We have presented regularly in the past on the on-going battle over access to in-vehicle data and resources that has pitched the OEMs against a variety of players in the aftermarket and related services.  The OEMs are responsible for ensuring the safety and integrity of their products and are keen to take advantage of closer ties to the car and its driver.  On the other side, the aftermarket players fear being excluded from the data they need to do their business.  In this webinar, we will bring the various arguments up to date, but will also show how the debate over in-vehicle data has now broadened substantially to encompass data protection, the prospect of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communication as part of a more managed road transport environment, and the embedding of external technology players such as Apple, Google, and other platform providers ever more deeply into vehicle systems and supporting networks.  As the different stakeholders across Europe all look to regulators to create a level playing field within which they can operate, we will question whether their expectations are realistic given the scale and complexity of the task, but also whether technological progress in the car itself may come to offer the basis of a solution.  Finally, we will consider how OEMs, dealers and aftermarket providers will need to evolve how they handle customer- and car-related data in the future.