ADI Newsletter June 2018 (GB)

Responsible editor: Autodistribution International, Kortenberg, Belgium

Edition: 06/2018

news www.ad- europe.com

ADI SUMM!T 25 & 26 April 2018

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At the occasion of the ADI Summit in Dolce La Hulpe (Brussels) on 25 & 26 of April, the ADI President Thomas Vollmar addressed an audience of some 170 automotive guests, composed of managers of the 24 ADI Partners and CEO’s and directors of the ADI contract suppliers.

After a short welcome, Thomas Vollmar starts with a comment on ADI‘s performance and growth:

“We can look back at 2017 as a very good year and confirm that we have fully overcome the effects of the 2009 financial crisis. 2.5% growth represents a 10year high, in which all the European countries played their part. The number of new car registrations has also grown significantly, with a 3.4% increase, and exceeded the 15 million vehicle mark. This is also the highest figure since 2009. ADI is clearly developing and moving within a completely different growth region. Over the last year, this enabled us to increase the purchasing volume of the ADI Group by over 15% and we can therefore consider ourselves one of the winners in the European competition. We are also aware, however, that this growth would not have

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been possible without the support of our suppliers and consistent customer orientation. In this sense, we are on the right track, especially as most of our ADI partners are now supplied directly by almost all ADI suppliers in their national markets. But, unfortunately, we are still not in the situation that is clearly outlined in our contracts with our ADI suppliers. Sadly, there are still a few ADI partners, which can only obtain goods indirectly from an ADI supplier in their national market, so that I also have to mention this annoying matter again this year. We must finally eliminate this distortion of competition and I very much hope that the discussions held during the summit will lead to a positive outcome. I am referring explicitly to the markets in Ireland, Denmark and also Finland. Apart from these troublesome isolated cases, however, we are making good progress together. For this reason, I must not miss this opportunity to thank you all very sincerely for this amazing result and express my hope that our new and future ADI partners will also be supplied directly and in line with the contracts.

It goes without saying that we also have special guests with us today, whom I would like to welcome personally. I am very pleased that our American friends Bill Maggs, Mike Mohler, Dan Renehan, Roy Kent and

Ivan Domingue once again braved the long journey from North America, in order to be with us today. It is hugely important that ADI is working with The Group, under the 1parts umbrella, to develop a global trading network without any restrictions. A warm welcome to our colleagues from 1parts.

In the movie you have noticed the list of suppliers that have chosen to support 1Parts by signing the global 1Parts agreement, 13 in total.

On this very evening, as a matter of fact only minutes ago, we have signed another 1Parts agreement.

Holger (Hellmich, Regional President EMEA Bosch Automotive Aftermarket), it is really my great pleasure to welcome Bosch as the 14th 1Parts vendor. Thank you very much Holger.

I also would like to welcome, once again, two other people who are incredibly important to us, as they defend our interests with great commitment and conviction. Of course, I am referring to the general secretary of FIGIEFA, Sylvia Gotzen, and our FIGIEFA president, Hartmut RĂśhl. It is nice that they are here again and many thanks to them for working so tirelessly in Brussels on behalf of the European parts trade!

To continue, the ADI President highlights the political, technical and economic challenges that keep the overall automotive aftermarket busy.

In 2009 the issues and challenges appeared almost insurmountable and no one could estimate how hard the crash would actually be. Despite this crisis, you might now think that the issues facing us 10 years ago were significantly more straightforward and mundane than today’s highly complex challenges.

These challenges are marked by great uncertainty in terms of international politics, technology and the economy. The sabre-rattling of a few rowdy-looking

characters in positions of responsibility plays a part in this, together with the shockingly naive actions of a few top managers in the automobile industry. The technically advanced and environmentally sound diesel engine will soon be on its way out, due to some unbelievably amateurish actions, without any real alternatives being available. However, at national level, diesel is being handled very differently from country to country, depending on the different interests at stake. In order to comply with the strict CO2 limit value of 95g/km from 2020, most car manufacturers will now be under great pressure to make diesel socially acceptable again. This will mean using costly exhaust gas purification technologies, especially as plug-in hybrids and electric cars are still struggling to emerge from the shadows - with their current share of less than 1%. Alternative technologies, such as fuel cells or the promotion of synthetic fuels, are falling by the wayside, due to wrong political decisions in favour of e-mobility, although all the experts know that there is no positive solution to the question of resources or the overall environmental balance. Whatever shape the developments may take, they will only have a small influence on mobility and the European automobile market. According to a recent study by PwC, within a few years, the European automobile market will be working according to completely different rules from now. As a result, the number of vehicles in Europe could fall by 80 million to approx. 200 million cars by 2030. In spite of this, the number of new registrations will increase by a good third to over 24 million per year. Together with car sharing, two other automotive megatrends are driving this development – drive system electrification and the impending technical breakthrough of driverless cars. By 2030, roughly half of all new cars are expected to be 100% electric vehicles. The most important megatrend, however, will be the rapidly increasing connectivity, without which the other three above-mentioned megatrends

IN THIS NEWSLETTER 6

ADI Summ!t 2018 in pictures

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AD Baltic celebrates 30th Anniversary

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Fabrice Rosi elected Aftermarket Professional of the year 2018

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Carmunication: Data that means Business

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Schaeffler: a strong partner today and tomorrow

latest news from the AD Group 3

would not even be possible. Admittedly, this will not come as a surprise to any of us and, if we are honest, it is also too far ahead for us to really worry about it this decade. On the other hand, we are all faced with the question of when and how we will have to adjust to this unavoidable development. Should we invest in technical solutions now, which may prove - within a few years - to have been the wrong decision and ultimately a waste of money? Or should we calmly wait and see how the automobile world develops? Without a shadow of doubt, connectivity, combined with telematic solutions, will influence our service and parts business. Modern vehicles are already being guided – almost forcibly - towards manufacturer-tied service networks. As company car owners, even we are happy to use their services because they are convenient. For this reason, I am personally of the opinion that we do not have the time to sit back and wait, before getting started with intelligent concepts sometime after 2020. No later than when the European Parliament has regulated access to the data in an open and interoperable way, we need to have solutions ready, so that we can also use this data as we would like. In this context, ADI has positioned itself very intelligently with its partners, without placing all its eggs in one basket.

This means that, our partners use all the currently relevant platform solutions, such as Carmunication and CARUSO, while also developing individual approaches. We are pleased to announce that ADI will be officially a member of CARMUNICATION as of today.

As soon as a real industry solution appears, we can make full use of the experience gained by our group within this field. As you can see, at ADI, we are striving to address these issues very rationally, correctly and in a neutral way, without jumping onto the bandwagon whenever something new receives a great deal of hype.

Instead, we are trying to collect all the reliable information together, in order to arrive at an overall

picture, before having it translated into 12 different languages for our partners and friends. For example, you all know about the excellent article by Neil Pattemore in the latest ADI newsletter, as well as the technical information on connectivity and downsizing in our Eure!Tech magazines.

Thomas Vollmar shares the analysis of his home market Germany and comments important developments in other ADI countries:

At this point, I must tell you that the German market has recently been turned upside down on the parts trade side and many medium-sized parts dealers are asking themselves whether they should hand their companies on to the next generation or sell them. As you know, the US companies LKQ and GPC are currently investing billions of Euros in taking over German parts dealers, while CARAT has lost, in the last 18 months alone, eight affiliated companies with a purchasing volume of approx. 70 million Euros as a direct or indirect result. Of course, we could not sit back and do nothing. For this reason, since the start of the year, we have also opened up our central warehouse, in order to supply non-CARAT partners. This has put us into contact with more than 100 parts dealers, which have gradually transferred their purchasing volumes to this new supplier. At the same time, we will establish a new mobility platform in 2018, which will guide car drivers and fleets to associated workshops with fixed prices and online appointments. This is a very fine project, which provides us with new information almost every day and addresses the digital transformation of our market. Similar projects are also being unrolled at AD AutoTotal in Romania, AD FRANCE and AD Parts in Spain, the latter having very recently created a joint company known as AD PARTS Intergroup.

Contrary to common belief, we are not looking at a partnership 9 ADI Shareholders: from l. to r. Josep Bosch, Omer Wesemael, StĂŠphane Antiglio, Hakan Ataoguz,

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Walter Birner, Olivier Roux, Thomas Vollmar, Juan Carlos Martin, Fabrice Rosi, Renator Zerbini, Ugo Carini, Cor Baltus, Gennady Korolkov, Steve Parker

within the partnership here, but wholly pragmatic business development strategies linked to a structured know-how transfer between both companies. A few weeks ago, our partner in Sweden, AD Sverige, opened an impressive central warehouse covering over 20,000m2 and thus gave a clear indication of its future orientation. Here in Belgium, AD Belux is also gaining momentum, with the aim of regaining its old strength. We can therefore look back with a feeling of satisfaction on a period of very strong growth, while also recognising that we have set the right course for the future. In this context, I would also like to remind you that we extended our board last year, in order to include partners from Russia, Great Britain, Italy and Turkey. As a result, with 9 shareholders (AD Parts, AD France, AD Ekol, Birner, Carat, AD Russia, AD Italia, AD Nederland, AD UK) just under 80% of our purchasing volume is represented on the board. This committee is currently a wonderful example of close and trusting cooperation, which is put into practice in our everyday work, free from political decisions in the various countries, and thus provides a counterpoint to national power interests. Politics are one thing, but people and colleagues are a different matter, as we strive to achieve our common goals free from ideological considerations, while working hard for our group. We must nurture and take care of this strength more than ever before, while sensitively ensuring that it is not infected by the political virus. Every strategic decision made by ADI is carefully reviewed by the board, discussed and implemented on a majority basis. This is very important to us, as we can only act rapidly and efficiently if we have a broad consensus across the group. At the same time, we also set great store by continuity and reliability. With this in mind, I would like to inform you that we both - Omer and I – have respected the wishes of the board and will remain in our positions – with Omer as managing director and myself as ADI President. We are both very pleased about this.

It was not until April of this year that we were informed of the first massive takeover on the industry side when Tenneco took over Federal Mogul. This would have been an amazing event a few years ago, but is now one of those interesting mergers that we so regularly witness. Hardly a week goes by, in which we do not read about a new partnership, alliance or takeover. We apparently do not consider ourselves diverse enough to cope with future challenges alone, which prompts us to look for synergies with suitable partners. Everything therefore becomes bigger and more complex. At the same time, a host of start-up

companies are chomping at the bit - too quickly, disruptively and almost like guerrillas to break into our market with completely new business models. Some people may be afraid of this, but I personally find it very exciting and certainly not boring. It is actually great fun to follow this development and develop your own counter-measures.

The ADI President invites the keynote speaker of the evening, Mr. Freddy Van den Spiegel, former Chief Economist at BNPParibasFortis and Professor of Finance at the Free University of Brussels and Vlerick Business School, business consultant at several European institutions such as the “European Banking Federation” and the “Federation of European Asset Managers”.

Thomas Vollmar concludes the evening session with the proclamation of two awards, the “Supplier of the Year 2017” and the “Aftermarket Professional of the Year 2018”.

The Award for “Supplier of the Year 2017” was attributed to ADI contract supplier SCHAEFFLER. On behalf of his team and company, the CEO Automotive Aftermarket of Schaeffler AG, Michael Söding, was proud to receive a unique bronze work of art representing the ever-changing “Framework” of the automotive aftermarket.

The Schaeffler Group, who wins the Award for the second time (Schaeffler was earlier elected ADI Supplier of the Year in 2009) generated sales of approximately EUR 14 billion in 2017. With more than 90,000 employees, Schaeffler is one of the world’s largest family companies and, with approximately 170 locations in over 50 countries, has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities, and sales companies.

Chosen by his peers at the ADI Summit, it was Fabrice Rosi, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of AD Russia, who proudly took away the coveted Award for “Aftermarket Professional of the Year 2018”. Fabrice Rosi thus joins the list of Aftermarket Professionals who received this “once-in-a-lifetime-award” before him. His prize was an original painting entitled: “For continuity of change” by the Dutch painter and sculptor Ad Arma.

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SUMM!T 2018 ... in pictures

6 Keynote speaker: Mr. Freddy Van den Spiegel

Close to 400 meetings organized during 1 day !

Supplier of the Year 2017: Schaeffler

Catalpa ensemble

Fabrice Rosi: elected as Aftermarket Professional of the Year

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FABRICE ROSI ELECTED AFTERMARKET PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR 2018 Fabrice Rosi, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of AD Russia, comments his title of “Aftermarket Professional of the Year 2018”: It is a great honour to be recognised by your peers. I was very touched to be awarded this prize. I think that this was obvious. However, recognising a single person for a group performance is also somewhat unfair. I would therefore like to include AD Russia’s Teams and Partners, as well as Gennady Korolkov, the person who has led our Group to where it is today via his expertise, humanism, and natural charisma in this award. The merit is theirs.

ing lows of -7% (2009) and -3% (2015). This has included a faltering currency with extreme fluctuations that is highly complex to manage, especially for a company that relies heavily on imports such as AD Russia. There were 36 roubles to one € in 2003, there are now 72.

An odd mix of patience, caution, solidarity, determination, creativity and daring has been required in order to make AD Russia one of the main operators on the Russian market.

Revenues reached €400 million in 2017 compared with a starting point of €37 million in 2003, while the storage area increased from 12,000 m² to 69,000 m² over the same peI have been lucky enough to work in an extraordinary coun- riod (an extra 20,000 m² is planned in 2018). The fleet of try for the past 17 years, and have been surrounded by peo- delivery vehicles has increased from 30 to 450, and most ple who are just as extraordinary; we will celebrate AD Rus- important of all, the network of sales outlets has increased from 12 to 46, covering Russia from Murmansk to Krasnodsia’s 15th anniversary in a few months. ar, and from Voronezh to Vladivostok.

However, the general economic environment has not been among the easiest over the past 15 years. There has Aside from the figures, which speak for themselves, I sinbeen a lack of growth since the 2009 downturn, and the cerely believe that AD Russia’s main achievement has been growth rate has fallen from an average of 7% for the period its decisive contribution to the change of IAM in Russia, between 2003 and 2008 to around 0% since then, includ- which has become a transparent business activity, thanks Finland: The delegation was hosted by Eero Broman

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AD Hessumobiili in Klaukkala

to its numerous initiatives, which have sometimes cost the company in terms of growth.

During this venture, we have been able to count on the unflagging support of Autodistribution International and of its Partners, Members, and Suppliers, whom I would like to formally recognise here.

AD Russia will pursue its sensible growth policy in 2018. A new central warehouse will be created, and several new sales outlets will be added to our network. Lastly, we are currently working on setting up the “AD Russia Academy”, which we hope will open in 2019.

It is important for us to avoid any triumphalism. Russia is a country where everything is difficult, although few things are impossible, but where nothing is foreseeable.

AD RUSSIA NETWORK OF OWNED SUBSIDIARIES: 57 POINTS OF SALES

Мurmansk

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St.-Petersburg Petrozavodsk

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Novgorod

Cherepovets Yaroslavl’

Kaluga

Belgorod

1

1

Vologda

2

1

Kostroma

Moscow

Ivanovo

Vladimir

RUSSIA

Nizhniy Novgorod

Tula Ryazan’

Cheboksary Voronezh Kazan’

Ul’yanovsk

Rostov-on-Don Krasnodar

Penza 2

Izhevsk Ekaterinburg

Tolyatti

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Samara Ufa

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Tumen’

Chelyabinsk

Magnitogorsk Orenburg

Pyatigorsk

Komsomol’sk-on-Аmur

Omsk

Bratsk Krasnoyarsk

- Central office of the partners of AD Russia Group - Point of sales

Novosibirsk

Blagoveschensk

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Irkutsk

Ulan-Ude

Khabarovsk

Chita

- Subsidiaries, opened in 2017

Ussuriysk 2

- The total number of branches in the city, including opened in 2017

SCHAEFFLER: A STRONG PARTNER TODAY AND TOMORROW In April the Automotive Aftermarket Division of the Schaeffler Group was named “Supplier of the Year 2017”

by ADI International. A good reason for a brief introduction to the automotive and industrial supplier, its strategy and not least its Automotive Aftermarket Division.

design, permit fuel savings of more than 20 percent, through hybrid modules for the reduction of consumption and CO2 emissions, to drive solutions for battery-powered vehicles. Involvement in the “FIA Formula E” electric racing series serves, among other things, as a development laboratory for future series of electric drives. Schaeffler is an exclusive technology partner of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team and is responsible for the drive train of the electric racing car.

The Schaeffler Group is a globally active automotive and industrial supplier. Top quality, outstanding technology and distinct innovative strength form the basis of the Schaeffler Group’s ongoing success. With precision components and systems in the engine, transmission and chassis as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a multitude of industrial applications, the Schaeffler Group is already making a decisive contribution to “Mobility for tomorrow” today.

“Mobility for tomorrow” strategy The demands on mobility are changing rapidly and calling for new answers. With the “Mobility for tomorrow” strategy, Schaeffler is setting the course for future, sustainably profitable growth. Based on the four major megatrends of climate change, urbanisation, globalisation and digitisation, the company is focusing on the four focal areas of “Environmentally Friendly Drives”, “Urban Mobility”, “Interurban Mobility” and “Energy Chain” across sectors and regions. Schaeffler is actively shaping these focal areas through its own research and development, and as a skilled innovation and technology leader, providing its customers and business partners with an attractive product range. As a development partner with a comprehensive understanding of the systems, Schaeffler offers innovative products for hybrid and electric vehicles. At the same time, Schaeffler is working on making conventional automobile engine and transmission solutions as well as the field of bearing technology in industrial applications more energy-efficient. The key focus of the strategy comprises the three topics of the future: E-Mobility, Industry 4.0 and Digitisation.  E-Mobility Electric drives can contribute significantly to making mobility more environmentally friendly and reducing emissions in major cities. As a partner of the automotive industry, Schaeffler develops solutions that meet customer requirements for different vehicles in different vehicle classes and in different regions: from 48-volt drives which, depending on the

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At Schaeffler, the experience gained in racing is incorporated into series development. The product range extends from components for belt starter systems and hybrid modules through e-axles to electric wheel hub drives in a wide range of voltage levels.

 Industry 4.0 Since the beginning of 2018, Schaeffler has combined all the activities from the mechatronics business and digital service business in the Industry 4.0 organisational unit of the Industry sector. “Industry 4.0” comprises the intelligent networking of Product Development, Production, Logistics and customers and suppliers. Schaeffler is already found anywhere where mechanical movement is generated and where primary data can be obtained.  Digitisation The convergence of the real and digital world provides new challenges, but also new business fields, changing value-added chains and major opportunities. As a supplier, Schaeffler is not only responding to this trend but thinking ahead with its “Digital Agenda” and thus actively shaping the future. In a

partnership with IBM, Schaeffler has created a digital platform as a central data hub as the basis for big data analyses. In addition, Schaeffler and IBM are working jointly on the application of innovative methods, for example, artificial intelligence, to products and processes.

members of AD International as well. I’m all the more pleased about the award for ADI Supplier of the Year 2017. It not only honours what we have achieved until now, it also strengthens the long-term trust that ADI places in us.”

Automotive Aftermarket: well positioned for the future Since 1 January the Automotive Aftermarket of Schaeffler has been an independent department and forms a third business division, in addition to Automotive OEM and Industry. This combines the expertise of a long-term partner of the original equipment manufacturer for the Aftermarket in a comprehensive range of spare parts and repair solutions for clutch and release systems, engine and transmission applications as well as chassis applications. In addition to spare parts, the division also provides workshop-related services and supports workshops with training courses, a technical field service, repair information and special tools.

“The fact is, the independent spare parts market is currently undergoing a transformation and we too have a lot planned, now that we are a stand-alone division of Schaeffler, in order to meet the needs of our customers in a way that’s even better and more flexible over the long-term”, says Michael Söding, CEO Automotive Aftermarket, Schaeffler AG. “We see this transformation as a chance to shape the future of the Automotive Aftermarket together with our partners. Reliability, quality and trust not only describe how we see ourselves as a company, they shape our longstanding partnership with all

Under the REPXPERT brand, Aftermarket experts from Schaeffler bundle workshop-related services that prepare repair professionals for the demands of tomorrow.

Schaeffler: Supplier of the Year 2018 (l. to r. Stefan Knaack, Omer Wesemael, Michael Söding, Sascha Lechner, Kai Guijo Müller, Thomas Vollmar 11

On May 26th AD Baltic celebrated its 30th anniversary in the impressive Zalgiris Arena in the city of Kaunas, some 100 km west of the capital Vilnius.

More than 3000 garage professionals from 3 Baltic states attended the event to visit the stands and presentations of 24 AD Baltic contract suppliers, participate at the computer simulator rally, enjoy the food and drinks or be amazed by the spectacular automotive attractions outside the arena.

Facts on AD Baltic: • Covering Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus • A total market of 15.5 M people and 5.8 M passenger cars.

• central logistics hub in Vilnius of 6500 m² (expandable to ± 8000m²) • Turnover: 44 M€ (2017)

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Kestutis Tubutis, General Director of AD Baltic was extremely satisfied with a successful event: “Our company has recently made considerable efforts in three domains that we believe to be crucial for the future : our logistics, our IT and catalogue systems and our team. We decided to bring together garage customers from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into one central place for a celebration, while presenting them our company and its supplier portfolio. The message we wanted to bring across is simple: AD Baltic is the right partner for the future. I‘m glad to see that we have accomplished today’s mission and look forward to another edition of the AD Baltic fair next year.”

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Carmunication: Data that means Business Remote access to vehicle data is radically changing business models in the automotive aftermarket – for parts distributors and manufacturers as well as for workshops.

The non-profit association Carmunication is developing data solutions for anyone who requires vehicle data to remain competitive or to reposition themselves on the market. Media and insurance companies are already on board with Carmunication too because the added value of data exceeds traditional industry boundaries. ADI has also recognized this and joined Carmunication in April – here we present the association.

Walter Birner, Co-founder of Carmunication

How does one even come up with the idea of establishing a non-profit association for vehicle data? For Walter Birner, founding member of Carmunication, it was clear from the start that the sector’s path must be a shared path: “About three years ago, we realised that we had to act: not only because vehicle data is becoming increasingly important but because this data is primarily being saved on the storage media of the automotive industry.” Discussions at Automechanika 2015 led to initial plans and eventually to the founding of the association: “Our aim has always been to support the free market with access to vehicle data. If only a few have full access, competition dies – and with it, the companies without this access.”

Data platform, knowledge community and business enabler: Anyone who becomes a member of the association is supported every step of the way in gaining customised access to vehicle data. It is not just a matter of the provision of

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a technically and legally perfect solution. Besides industry veteran Erik Lundtoft, Managing Director of Carmunication since April 2018, specially appointed division managers take care of the concerns of the five divisions currently supported: Trade, Workshops, Industry, Data Providers and Insurance & Banking.

This means that Carmunication is also a knowledge community: members’ meetings and workshops always provide opportunities for keeping up-to-date with development. The digital business models of the future are now at an early stage – Carmunication would like to offer not only the data but also the information network to enable these to flourish.

Independence comes first: Carmunication’s most important decision was and is to develop their own open data platform – only in this way can independence be ensured. The Carmunication platform gathers vehicle data from various sources: telematics systems and manufacturer solutions as well as OBD dongles (see diagram). This is prepared and thus made usable in the true sense. What distinguishes Carmunication is the ‘Privacy Zone’ installed in the system: this ensures that personal data remains protected and is thus ahead of manufacturer solutions (see “The eCall and the consequences” infobox). Carmunication members benefit from the secure data tailored to their requirements which is made available to them via the platform.

Why do workshops need telematics data? Repair procedures will change still further with the introduction of telematics systems: then car owners will not only come into the workshop when they have problems but when the forecasting system recommends they should, based on telematics data. Who will get the service order then: the familiar and trusted workshop – or the manufacturer’s workshop which makes this recommendation? This is why it is so important that telematics data is not just kept by the vehicle manufacturers – otherwise independent workshops will not stand a chance soon (see “The eCall and the consequences” infobox).

What competitive advantage do parts distributors and manufacturers have? New competitive advantages can also be developed for the Production and Trade sector using telematics data. “Big Data” is the key here: telematics units not only offer more data per vehicle, by analysing anonymised live vehicle data, conclusions can also be drawn regarding product quality and wear and tear across the width of the installed

parts. This is where product development can be applied with pinpoint accuracy and distributors can improve their product range in a targeted fashion.

Contact: info@carmunication.eu for enquiries from all branches of industry.

The objectives: In the long term, Carmunication is working on an industry solution that is already anchored in vehicles: the development of an intelligent unit which permits vehicle owners to send and release data straight from the dashboard.

Carmunication thus supports the political work of FIGIEFA/AFCAR: ‘Direct Access – Driving Progress’.

The eCall and the consequences By introducing the eCall emergency call system, the risk of uneven distribution has once again come to a head: with telematics systems, the installation of which has been compulsory since April 2018, vehicle manufacturers potentially have a direct link to vehicle data. Conversely, solutions developed by some car manufacturers to enable data access for others have proved disappointing to date: the so-called “Extended Vehicle” concept provides about eighty (!) data points maximum instead of several thousand (we reported: ADI news 12/2017). Vehicle

manufacturers have also recently come under fire from consumer protection groups, such as the vzbv (Federation of German Consumer Organisations) in Germany, who say the vehicle manufacturers would „gather all vehicle data possible“. Consumer protection groups are therefore insisting on a neutral solution where “trusted agents” take care of the storage and redistribution of data.

Carmunication regards itself as such a “trusted agent”, for which the protection of personal data is paramount.

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contract suppliers 2018

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