Car data war heats up

THE AFTERMARKET INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES IS TAKING THE FIGHT TO CARMAKERS WHO ARE TRYING TO LOCK AWAY THE DATA IN INCREASINGLYCOMPUTERISED CARS

Vehicles today are not just vehicles — they’re also data collection resources. And these days, data is king.

There are nearly 69 million connected vehicles on the road today. By 2022, 87 per cent of new vehicles in the United States will be equipped with wireless technology that transmits vehicle data in real-time, according to IHS Markit forecasts.

Starting with the 2015 models, all new vehicles come with wireless technology that generates 25GB of data per hour, according to McKinsey estimates. This includes data on driving behavior, GPS location, and important diagnostics such as maintenance and repair information, among others.

Wireless technology has given vehicle manufacturers more opportunities than ever to monopolize data. They are wirelessly collecting important maintenance and repair data, making them the gatekeepers of information tied directly to the jobs of automotive industry technicians. And

as more connected vehicles hit the road and digital services associated with cars expand, additional volumes of data are captured, increasing the potential for locking the aftermarket out of the loop.

Possession and the law

As the old saying goes, possession is ninetenths of the law so manufacturers are already in a strong position to exert exclusive access to and control of vehicle data. It means they could control the vehicle support chain and even wall off independent technicians from vehicle data entirely. They would have the power to alter the auto care industry landscape and threaten the independent aftermarket that provides 70 per cent of vehicle repair and maintenance.

In 2012, the Auto Care Association and Coalition for Auto Repair Equality successfully obtained passage of the Massachusetts ‘Right to Repair’ law and in 2013, the subsequent Right to Repair Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that required equal access for independent repairers to the same service information, tools, and software that manufacturers provide to their franchised dealers. But that wasn’t the end of the story as car companies seek to lock down access to the on-board diagnostic system in the name of “cybersecurity.”

For its 2018 model year cars, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) requires workshops, the technician, and the tools to be authorized by the manufacturer before they can access the OBD system for many repairs. Other car companies are looking at similar systems or are

considering their own approach to cybersecurity that could force shops to access diagnostic data through the manufacturer’s cloud.

Standards-based

While cybersecurity is clearly important, handing complete control to manufacturers is not the answer. It should be addressed in a manner that is standards-based and ensures that the control of the data is with the owner of the vehicle through a ‘Secure Vehicle Interface (SVI)’. SVI offers a common language and set of interfaces for securely communicating vehicle information to third parties. More information can be found on the Auto Care Association website.

The Auto Care Association along with CARE, the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, has been working with the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition to introduce legislation that would amend the state’s right to repair law in order to require that the vehicle owner has the ability to control where the repair data on their vehicle is sent. See www. massrighttorepair.org. The legislation also seeks to take on actions by the FCA to lock down the OBD port by prohibiting manufacturers from restricting access to the on-board diagnostic system unless access is standardized across all makes and models and that control over access is independent of the manufacturer.

The US auto care industry generates $392 billion in revenue each year and supports 4.6 million American jobs. Those figures could dip significantly if independent repair shops starved of data access are cut out of the picture. According to McKinsey estimates, vehicle data could be worth as much as $750 billion by 2030. As digitalization, electronic controls, electric vehicle technology, and falling sales continue to disrupt the auto industry, vehicle manufacturers would love to exploit vehicle data as a new revenue stream.

Your car. Your data.

This loss of consumer choice, reduced competition for repair and maintenance services, and the threat to skilled roles in a thriving industry led to the creation of the Your Car. Your Data. Your Choice.™ education and advocacy campaign. It aims to increase industry and consumer awareness about the importance of modern vehicle data and the implications of consumers not having access or control of that data. It led to an op-ed in The New York Times and the endorsements of several NHRA and NASCAR drivers.

The problem Your Car. Your Data.™ aims to solve is straightforward: three-quarters of American consumers — and it’s unlikely to be a lower number here — do not know about vehicle data, or why it’s important they control access to their information. Consumers should be able to choose the price, person, and place they want to perform repair and maintenance services on their cars but few of them would even realise this is under threat. Aside from losing their relationship with their favourite independent garage mechanic, mandatory trips to manufacturer-controlled shops could mean longer wait times and travelling to inconvenient locations.

Earn GetGenuine points on your Genuine Parts spend That could mean customers may delay or ignore safety-critical repairs or services.

So technicians at the nearly 180,000 independent repair shops across the US are being to asked to talk to their customers and get them to sign a petition to go to lawmakers at yourcaryourdata.org. Meanwhile, there’s more information available at autocare.org/ telematics and aftermaketsuppliers.org/CarData, like the Vehicle Data fact sheet or the Technician one-pager.

The aftermarket industry in the United States believes vehicle manufacturers are relying on consumer ignorance, silence, and apathy as they steadily absorb car owners’ and drivers’ vehicle data. The Your Car. Your Data.™ campaign represents a vital lifeline for the industry, building both numbers and voices standing up for an independent industry.