Tyres Europe: ‘Data Act failing to create competition'

Brussels – A group of associations* representing consumers and automotive and mobility service providers have welcomed a new assessment of the implementation of the EU Data Act across 29 major vehicle manufacturer groups.

The findings of the ‘CARUSO ‘connected vehicle field test confirm that the Data Act has established important principles for access to vehicle-generated data, said their joint statement – issued 12 Oct by Tyres Europe.

Significant progress was also achieved in that the regulation “has succeeded in encouraging some vehicle manufacturers to engage with the issue for the first time,” according to the associations.

However, they noted, one year after its application, the framework “remains insufficient on its own to enable a competitive and innovative market for connected mobility services.”

Covering 15 automotive use-cases across 28 vehicle manufacturer groups, the study found that while access to vehicle data has improved, conditions for competitive, scalable and genuinely multi-brand services are still lacking.

“Lack of access for third parties and differences in data scope, quality and coverage, combined with restrictive commercial conditions, continue to undermine the business case for innovative services,” the grouping commented.

The findings suggest that, for many manufacturers, implementation has become primarily a compliance exercise rather than a genuine effort to enable effective market access.

Independent service providers continue to face limited datasets, restrictive terms, manual approval processes, manufacturer-specific consent mechanisms and inconsistent technical solutions.

While such approaches may comply with the broadly defined obligations of the Data Act, they are fundamentally incompatible with the real-time, automated access required for modern digital services.

“CARUSO shows that compliance with the horizontal Data Act does not automatically create a competitive market in the automotive and mobility services sector.

Many manufacturers now offer Data Act access, yet the development of scalable multi-brand services remains out of reach. Europe's challenge is not just establishing access rights, but ensuring those rights deliver real-world competition and innovation.”

Read the full joint statement

*ADPA (represents publishers of technical information): FIA (drivers and mobility clubs);  AIRC ( body repairers); FIGIEFA (spare parts distributors);  AME (dealers and repairers); Insurance Europe (insurers and reinsurers); CLEPA (spare parts manufacturers); Leaseurope (leasing and rental companies); EGEA (tools suppliers); Tyres Europe (tire manufacturers).