100 days of the Data Act – Interview with Clepa Senior Consultant Frank Schlehuber

Looking back on the first 100 days of the Data Act, how do you, as a CLEPA representative, assess its implementation so far?

Frank Schlehuber: We have noticed that vehicle manufacturers are taking the Data Act very seriously and offering more data for sharing. That was not the case before. The Data Act puts the vehicle user at the centre. They can now freely decide with whom they want to share their data. The problem, however, is that the data offered by manufacturers still varies greatly, with some offering 6 data points and others well over 200. Nevertheless, we have taken a step forward with the Data Act: in its guidance on the Data Act, the European Commission has specified which data should be made available and which should not. It is now clear that all data from sensors, even if it has been pre-processed, e.g. the signal from a temperature sensor converted into degrees Celsius, can be shared. This does not include highly complex algorithms, such as data for pedestrian detection from camera data in the vehicle. The scope of data described by the legislator allows relevant applications to be implemented.

The aim of the Data Act is to create a level playing field for SMEs, start-ups and suppliers. In your opinion, how effective is the Data Act in strengthening smaller players so far, and what improvements would be necessary to further promote innovation and competitiveness?

Frank Schlehuber: The main problem is that we do not yet have a uniform database on which we can build applications and services. And that users always have to give their consent before their data can be used at all. If someone wants to invest, they have no idea what they can offer the user because they don't know what data their vehicle actually provides. If you wanted to fundamentally improve the situation, you would need to have a basic consensus on a uniform data set – we call this the minimum set of data – which might contain forty or fifty data points that are supported by a large number of vehicles, if technically possible. Our goal is for the same data to be available for all vehicles in this specific pattern. Then we can start to develop comprehensive insurance use cases, pay-as-you-drive, pay-how-you-drive and other fleet use cases. For small and medium-sized enterprises, the Data Act stipulates that they can obtain data from OEMs at more favourable conditions. In their case, the manufacturer is not allowed to charge for the data itself, but only for the cost of providing it plus a margin.

CLEPA is currently working with Caruso Dataplace to analyse available data sets and possible use cases. What initial findings can you share about how better access to vehicle-generated data could enable new services, business models or efficiency potential for the supplier industry?

Frank Schlehuber: Together with Caruso Dataplace, we are investigating what data manufacturers currently offer. The first finding is that the data situation varies greatly, both in terms of the scope and type of data points, as well as the frequency and manner in which they are offered. For example, one manufacturer sends data every few seconds, coming very close to the Data Act's requirement for ‘real time’, while another only sends data once a day or after the vehicle has been parked. The pricing is as varied as the selection of data. The demand for more favourable conditions for SMEs is already being implemented in isolated cases, but the price level is still too high overall. The data is often offered in so-called bundles or packages, which vary from vehicle manufacturer to vehicle manufacturer. For one manufacturer, the total package costs over €30 per month, while SMEs pay around €24 for this. No insurance company will be able to offer data-based tariffs on this cost basis.

Stability and transparency are crucial for long-term investment in digital solutions. What specific impact do you expect the Data Act to have on the European mobility sector – and what additional measures would be helpful to enable suppliers to invest confidently in data-driven technologies?

Frank Schlehuber: The next step now is to consider a set of rules that will lead to a uniform data set at a reasonable cost, supported by all vehicles, provided that the technical requirements are met. This would create a uniform basis that could also lead to investments. In a second step, there must be more transparency about what data is actually available for a vehicle. Much of the data generated in the vehicle is not connected to the communication interface at all, i.e. it remains in the vehicle. Other data is connected, but only a subset is transmitted to the OEMs, and of that, only a portion may be made available to third parties. The vehicle manufacturer always has an advantage over its competitors here because it knows what data is generated and can be used. This is where the issue of protecting trade secrets or non-monitoring comes into play: when an OEM provides data, it must not know who it is giving it to. It must separate this from its own business models.

What will happen with the Data Act in the coming months?

Frank Schlehuber: I don't see any chance of new regulations being introduced before March or April. From a political perspective, the Data Act has only just come into force. We must now point out that, in our view, there is still room for improvement. To this end, we have provided the EU Commission with an initial interim report on the Connected Vehicle Field Test with Caruso. The Commission is very interested in the results and is aware of the positions of the individual market players. Further guidance has been hinted at, specifically with regard to data costs. At the CLEPA Aftermarket Conference on 18/19 March in Brussels, we will present the results in detail and also give the Commission the opportunity to announce further planned guidelines. We will draw attention to the fact that the Data Act needs to include regulations tailored to the automotive sector with uniform requirements for manufacturers so that the use of data becomes economically viable and also triggers investment in new data-based services. This can be achieved through supplementary legislation to the Data Act or through sector-specific regulations.