Connectivity in the most modern cars is one of the most powerful arguments for customers. A technology that involves the transmission and exchange of data that has led the European Union to develop a special data protection law that is mandatory for car brands.
There are many customers for whom on-board connectivity is one of the essentials when buying a car. Manufacturers know this, so they ship an extra dose of options to satisfy customers, but there are also many who shy away from this technology, as well as some of the driving assistants due to one key issue: data transmission and exchange.
The current generation of new cars already maintains communication with the brand and the dealers, and the recently approved black boxes will go further. This last system, with which the causes of traffic accidents will be found out, cannot be deactivated at the request of the driver, which has forced the European Union to develop a new data protection law specific to car manufacturerswhich may not store information for their exclusive use.
Connectivity data, another problem for brands
It is the intention of the EU Commission that this important registration, which is of paramount importance to manufacturers, despite the fact that more than 80% of the data is not used due to legal obstacles that they entail, is shared with other organizations or suppliers in the automotive sector, which would help improve the operation of driving assistants or facilitate repairs in workshops independent of official services. These are the reasons why the information held by brands does not leave their filesaccording to the specialized newspaper «Anzeiger Industry».
Although the vast majority of brands do not share information, sometimes a payment for access, another of the keys that the new law wants to eliminate and that is shared free of charge. This is what is being debated about the draft by the MEPs of the European Parliament, who do not fully trust the European proposal. The Commission advocates the access of car owners, and third parties, to the data generated at any time, even declaring null unilateral contracts for access and use of information if there is damage to the owners.
The debate seems long and complicated, since Germany is the country that is most questioning this new data protection law. through the VDAthe German Industry Association, has carried out an in-depth analysis detecting important aspects and not agreeing on the access of a third party to all the information generated in a vehicle.
In this sense, it considers that the information on the communication with other vehicles and infrastructures – the technology «Car-to-X»- matters little or nothing to some organizations, while also considering that 100% open access to other manufacturers can lead to competitive problems. Endless amendments that promise a long process, but the EU will not wait much longer.