The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA), which is part of the Independent Service Providers (ISPs) grouping, has urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the relevant College of Commissioners to put an end to the repeated delays in proposing legislation on access to in-vehicle data, functions and resources in Europe. It said that “doing so would unleash the untapped potential to create real competition in Europe’s data-driven automotive and mobility markets”.
ISP Group, which represents a wide range of operators in the European automotive aftermarket and mobility service providers who are investing in the development of digitalised services and data-driven innovation, commented: “The Commission committed to bringing forward access to in-vehicle data legislation in December 2020 by the end of 2021. We’re now in 2023 and the proposal has been delayed yet again. Despite six years of painstaking Commission evidence-gathering and previous strategic policy plans, the vast majority of the sector are left in limbo and investment decisions are delayed in the face of substantial market barriers that benefit just one segment of a potentially huge market.”
It added that the process has to get back on track. “This legislation is vital to unblock the automotive and mobility services sector market. Almost every European uses some form of mobility every day and they should be able to enjoy the benefits of data-driven innovation, choice and affordability in the automotive and mobility ecosystem. Today they can’t. The Commission must rectify this.”
The statement said that the recent series of legislative measures part of the European Data Strategy addresses significant market distortions that will “enable a more vibrant and competitive European Internet economy that is not captive to a few dominant players”.
However, it says that, despite all the evidence gathered over the last six years, the European automotive and mobility ecosystem continues to face all the same market barriers and distortions that the EU itself has addressed in the wider EU Data Strategy series of regulations for the Internet economy, including the increasing dependency on the technology platforms of the hyperscalers.
It went on to urge the Commission to get the regulatory process for a sector-specific regulation on ‘access to in-vehicle data & resources’ back on track immediately so that there is time for the co-legislators to scrutinise and adopt the text before the end of the Parliamentary term in May 2024.