We have often talked about the connected car here, above all to explain the true future of the electric car – namely autonomous driving, the real revolution in future mobility. What the fourth (and final) instalment of the Autopromotec Talks did was clarify a series of aspects that are still little known. But, above all, it answered increasingly frequent questions: who owns the data we share (sometimes without realising it) through our cars? How is it managed to ensure safety, innovation and the protection of rights?

Connected cars and artificial intelligence: risk or opportunity?

After touching in recent months on issues crucial to cars and mobility – such as sustainability, Made in Italy, the role of artificial intelligence and connectivity – the last of the Autopromotec Talks, hosted by the Automobil Club Milano, brought together experts from different disciplines and university researchers to understand what expectations and fears may exist towards the "sapiens" car, as Fabio Orecchini – professor of energy and environment systems at the Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi and director of the automotive and mobility observatory at the Luiss Business School – has repeatedly called it, thus summing up in a single word the complex digital transformation affecting cars and drivers.

A transformation that, at least according to the data gathered by the research paper "Dall'Automobile Sapiens, all'Automobilista Sapiens – Reazioni, aspettative e timori nei confronti dell'auto della nuova specie ed analisi della sua diffusione sul mercato" (available for download in full here), does not cause too much alarm: many drivers, with an average age of 34, say they are ready to embrace the era of intelligent mobility, willing to accept that a vehicle may be equipped with artificial intelligence systems capable of making autonomous decisions to optimise the everyday driving experience.

18 million connected vehicles are circulating in our country

What many people do not know is that the car of the near future will increasingly become our "digital twin" – collecting, analysing and using gathered information for operational and safety purposes and to deliver tailored services. Worried? Well, that is exactly what our smartphones have been doing for some time now. But how many connected cars are currently on our roads? According to Enrico Al Mureden, professor at the University of Bologna, in Italy almost 18 million vehicles are already connected – equivalent to 45 per cent of the national fleet.

Connected cars that already today generate and transmit an enormous amount of data that concerns us very closely: where we are, what our driving style is like, even our biometric data in some cases. But where does our data end up, and how is it used? There is something of a shadow hanging over the data: although it is produced by the vehicle and linked to the user, car manufacturers often claim control over it, creating confusion about who – between manufacturer, driver and owner – should actually hold the rights to it.

An updated car is a safer car

But not all data is the same. Some is collected by the car because it is useful for improving mobility services, road safety and traffic efficiency, or for updating software – which is beneficial both for ADAS driver assistance systems that update remotely to improve their performance, and for ensuring the car remains compliant with regulations, safe, and maintains its environmental performance. Other data serves purposes that are, let's say, more interesting for those managing a fleet, for instance, or for a company wanting to know how its employees are using a company car…

But data also makes the work of dealerships, garages and tyre fitters easier, enabling them to act "proactively" in offering safety-related services. Indeed, but who looks after privacy protection? European regulation helps us here, and through tools such as the Data Act and the AI Act it aims to ensure protection and transparency in data management, although uncertainties and gaps remain, as emerged at the Milan event.

What risks do we face when a car collects our data?

• Informed and clear consent for data use
• Security and the risk of cyber-attacks
• Liability for breaches and cybersecurity
• Commercial use and user profiling, with potential impacts including targeted advertising or sale to third parties
• Sharing data with public authorities and law enforcement, in a delicate balance between public safety and the right to privacy

User rights and privacy protection

In short, as is clear, the thorny issue concerns who holds our data: us as users, car manufacturers, or digital service providers? The risks, as highlighted, are real. The various speakers repeatedly stressed the need for end-user rights to be clearly defined, precisely in order to protect privacy. A crucial role could be played by the PRA, the Pubblico Registro Automobilistico, which in its capacity can not only provide legal certainty and transparency, but can also use that data to support the development of innovative services for drivers, for safety campaigns, to notify us when our MOT is due, and much more besides. This is a significant role given that around 53 million vehicles are registered with the PRA in Italy, across 90,000 categories – not all of them safe or connected, unfortunately (the average age of the national vehicle fleet is 12 years and 10 months, the oldest in Europe…).

Repair shops and fuelling stations: our car's data is valuable to them too

The evolution of connected vehicles and the growing complexity of electronic systems have also opened up new challenges in the auto repair sector and for workshops, including independent ones. Consider access to diagnostic and repair data, which is essential for maintaining modern vehicles. Today, a car no longer goes in for servicing only for mechanical issues or routine and extraordinary maintenance. Think of the aforementioned ADAS systems. The windscreen of a modern car is no longer a simple "pane of glass" — it houses sensors and cameras, devices that help us stay in our lane, recognise road signs or brake automatically in an emergency. Rain and light sensors, all systems that, when the windscreen is replaced, need to be recalibrated.

And to do so, once again, official data from the car manufacturer is required, so that workshops can intervene with precision and safety. Even for fuelling stations, data management is fundamental to improving the experience for motorists, forecasting fuel demand, reducing costs and optimising maintenance. All of this and much more will be discussed during the 30th edition of the biennial Autopromotec fair dedicated to automotive aftermarket. The event takes place at Fiera di Bologna, from 21 to 24 May; come and find us — LifeGate Radio is the official radio of the show, and you'll find us in the Quadriportico, Costituzione entrance. See you there!