New research by Parkers.co.uk, has revealed that although many new cars come with data-logging capability, 75% of drivers don’t want these systems in their cars, especially if they could affect things like insurance premiums. The research from Parkers comes off the back of an investigation into car companies’ use of behaviour data. This revealed that car companies share anonymised behavioural data about its customers, like where they go and their driving style, with third party data companies.
Just 10% of people polled knew their car had a data agreement in place already, and of them, only 19% of those people confessed to reading it. In addition, a whopping 86% of people would not be happy for their car to share driving habit data with third-party companies.
WHAT IS A DATA AGREEMENT?
Broadly it means agreeing to how and where your data can be shared. If you use Google you’ll have signed one before.
New cars with connected services (an internet connection or an app) will have you sign up for agreement. Generally, it involves agreeing to share data about you and the car with the manufacturer, and certain third-party companies.
WHAT DATA DOES YOUR CAR COLLECT?
This depends on what car you have, as well as how old the car is. If you can operate functions on your car (like the locks or the heating) via an app on your phone, or the car has an inbuilt sat-nav it can most likely collect data on you.
Common data collection from cars include:
- Location information – like where you’ve been
- Driver behaviour data – such as how hard you brake
- Personal information – for instance, when you purchased your car
- Marketing information – for example, when your PCP agreement is due to end
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
A few car makers have add-ons you can buy from inside of the car. Expect this to become the norm in the future. For instance, Skoda Octavia SE customers have the option of upgrading to auto-dip headlights for a one-off payment of £179. This includes unlimited access to the feature and is transferable from owner to owner. The software and hardware are installed into the vehicle, including the buttons needed to operate it, but it requires a further payment from inside the car to work.
Buying from behind the wheel looks set to become even more lucrative with autonomous cars. The Polestar 2 was the first car to have Google’s Android OS natively plumbed into it. Polestar’s website mentions that thanks to Android Automotive OS being native, the Polestar 2 ‘will soon be a shop you can buy things in.’
Mark Aryaeenia, CEO of vehicle data company, Verex, told Parkers: ‘Car companies are thinking far ahead into the future. For instance, an autonomous car has a captive audience. Imagine the e-commerce opportunities it has.’
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