Supporting automotive OEMs through EU Data Act implementation

As many of you are aware, the EU Data Act which entered into force on January 11th, 2024, becomes applicable on September 12th, 2025. Leveraging our long industry experience and deep expertise developing and operating connected vehicle services for some of the world’s most successful automotive brands, WirelessCar has the ability to support OEMs during this challenging transitional period.

The EU Data Act in brief

With the aim of regulating access to and the use of data within the European Union (EU), the EU Data Act is part of the EU's broader digital strategy to ensure that data is more accessible, usable, and secure across industries and sectors. The legislation focuses on enabling the sharing of data to drive innovation, improve competition and help businesses and governments make better decisions.

Practically, the EU Data Act is intended to enable users of connected products (e.g. connected cars, medical and fitness devices, industrial or agricultural machinery) and related services (i.e. anything that would make a connected product behave in a specific manner, such as an app to adjust the brightness of lights or to regulate the temperature of a fridge) to access the data that they co-create by using the connected products / related services. One of the key objectives of the legislation is to create fairness in the data economy and empower users to reap value from the data they generate using the connected products that they own, rent or lease.

Inherent value in data

There is no doubt that the availability of this kind of data will significantly impact the economy. For example, data generated by connected products and related services can be used to boost aftermarket and ancillary services as well as to create entirely new services, benefiting both businesses and consumers. From this, we can conclude that as well as the legal reasons, there is a compelling financial motivation to be proactive in one’s approach to the new legislation.

Obligations for automotive OEMs that are considered data holders

So, as a data-holding OEM, what do you need to do? To summarize a few key obligations, to comply with the provisions of the EU Data Act, data accessed from connected vehicles or generated during the provision of related services must be made accessible to the user. Furthermore, the right for the user to share data with third parties must be ensured. The challenges presented by the implementation of the act are clear – and with our extensive experience in the connected car industry, WirelessCar can help you devise an equally clear response.

How would we do this?

To enable a smoother, more effective way for an OEM to enable compliance, WirelessCar is exploring the potential of our EU Data Act Solution. The solution is based on our position of strength based on our technical expertise and long-standing and established relationship with the automotive industry. This EU Data Act Solution would aim to address the following three key areas:

Data management. Aggregation and documentation of data stored in different OEM systems, generated by connected products, enabling the OEM to share the relevant data.
Access management. Supporting the data holder to provide secure data access to users (e.g., owners of connected cars), the public sector and 3rd parties.
Ease-of-use. Delivering a “one-stop-shop” touchpoint to support the processes and interactions needed by the different parties to manage access and data sharing.

Credibility enables compliance

We strongly believe that the valuable experience we hold allows us to understand the challenges automakers face in respect of the EU Data Act and gives us credibility when it comes to creating the solutions to tackle them. WirelessCar currently operates millions of vehicles and as such, represents proven expertise in achieving integrations with multiple data sources and systems. Other factors an OEM should note when considering the WirelessCar EU Data Act Solution include –

The WirelessCar platform is opened and secured with documented APIs daily used by OEMs and OEM partners.
To support the aim of interoperability and standardization, we follow ongoing industry initiatives in data harmonization and are an active participant in COVESA.
We have delivered data access management to several OEMs for fleet/B2B context for several years and will leverage this expertise for EU Data Act access.

Key features of this solution

The EU Data Act Solution would enable a data holder to comply with many of its obligations, e.g. in relation to consumer or business users and the public sector. For Compliance Officers, R&D Departments, Engineers, Connected Services Specialists and Digital Marketing and Experience Teams at an automaker, the solution answers many of the technical dilemmas created by the new legislation. Key features include –

A data-agnostic injection mechanism that simplifies integration from multiple data sources and vehicle domains into a data catalog.
Management of data access to users or 3rd parties through direct download or through open, documented and secured APIs.
The EU Data Act Portal, a touchpoint for all parties, is designed to enable more streamlined sharing of and access to data.
Fees and compensation enablement (for situations where different parties may be charged for services related to the relevant data).
Enabling records of “who shared what and when”.
Open platform with standardized patterns for OEM integrations.

Your business may be new to the EU, or your internal resources might need technical support. Whatever the circumstances, if you’re curious about how WirelessCar can help you meet challenges related to the EU Data Act and how we can provide support, contact me at the email address below.

You can also find related articles on our WirelessCar Insights Blog, covering diverse subjects from automotive cybersecurity and cybersecurity threat intelligence, to machine learning and UNR 155 and ISO/SAE 21434.