BMW and MINI CarData.
With BMW and MINI CarData, the BMW Group is continuing to expand its future-oriented premium services, enabling service providers to provide new, innovative and individually tailored services to BMW and MINI customers based on data from their vehicle (available for BMW customers and, in the EU, MINI customers).
The requirement is that a customer must give the service provider express permission for the release of their data and must have a telematics-enabled vehicle allocated to a BMW ConnectedDrive or MINI Connected customer account.
The BMW Group is one of the first automobile manufacturers to introduce this service and execute it in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CarData is an implementation of the “Extended Vehicle Approach”, which is supported by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).
HOW CARDATA WORKS.
The vehicle generates data. For example, this may be status data such as the current odometer reading; usage-based data, such as average mileage; or event data such as an automatic service call. Some of this data is encrypted in the form of “telematics data” and is transferred exclusively to secure BMW Group servers via the permanently installed SIM card.
BMW and MINI customers can request a CarData data report on the BMW ConnectedDrive or MINI Connected customer portal at any time. This provides transparency for the most recent essential telematics data stored on BMW Group servers at the time of request.
Service providers like workshops or insurance companies can register for CarData. If a BMW or MINI customer would like to use a certain service and has actively consented to the sharing of their telematics data, the requesting company will receive the data required for the service in question in an encrypted format via the BMW Group’s secure back-end. Third parties can access selected telematics data only with the customer’s explicit direction at BMW CarData.
ONE SERVICE, TWO BENEFICIARIES.
Your data under control
With BMW and MINI CarData, you can easily choose to allow or not allow telematics data from your vehicle to be shared with third parties, or revoke consent you have already given. In this way, you always have control over your telematics data.
Trust through transparency
With CarData, you can always view which telematics data is stored by the BMW Group and when which data is transferred to third parties by BMW with your consent.
Exclusive benefits
CarData gives third parties the possibility to offer personalised services based on your vehicle data. Consequently, you may benefit from insurance premiums calculated on the basis of actual mileage, down to the nearest cent or penny.
BMW CarData offers every company based in the European Economic Area (EEA) the option of using vehicle data from connected BMW and MINI vehicles to develop new and innovative services and business models. From pay-as-you-drive insurance policies to smart home functionalities, a wide range of added-value services is possible – and already available on the market – for BMW and MINI vehicles.
Data security and road safety are always top priority, meaning that direct access to the vehicle is not possible.
The primary benefits of CarData for third parties include:
- Non-discriminatory access to telematics data from BMW and MINI vehicles for third-party services, provided that the customer allows their data to be shared.
- Access to telematics data without needing to install any special hardware in the vehicle, like a dongle.
- Standardised web interface (REST) for easy, automatable access to telematics data. Easy integration into a personal software solution.
- Automatic push notifications when there is an event in the vehicle, such as an automatic service data transfer or the vehicle’s position data is updated in the BMW Group back-end.
TAILORED THIRD-PARTY SERVICES FOR BMW AND MINI DRIVERS.
The telematics data provided via CarData could help rationalise existing processes and make them more customer-friendly.
DATA PROTECTION IS TOP PRIORITY.
DATA SHARED WITH THIRD PARTIES ONLY WITH CUSTOMER CONSENT.
The BMW Group only shares telematics data from a vehicle with the express, prior consent of the BMW or MINI driver and only within the scope of a clear, intended purpose. The service provider, who is known to the BMW Group as a registered partner company, will first contact the customer to explain its services to them and request permission to access their data. The customer's consent is required before the service provider can access the telematics data. No other transfer of the BMW or MINI customer’s telematics data to service providers will take place. The BMW Group provides this data to service providers on a non-discriminatory basis.
The customer also retains full transparency: CarData offers BMW and MINI customers the option of requesting a CarData transaction report at any time. This shows when BMW has forwarded which telematics data to third parties, based on the customer's consent.
IMPLEMENTING THE EXTENDED VEHICLE APPROACH.
In an ISO standardisation project known as “Extended Vehicle”, the automotive industry has developed a web-based interface that third parties can use to securely access vehicle data from automotive manufacturers in a standardised format.
In this way, the automotive industry is already creating the technical conditions for external service providers to offer mobility services to car drivers today.
AVAILABILITY THROUGHOUT EUROPE.
BMW and MINI CarData are available to service providers based in the European Economic Area (EEA). Any company in the EEA can register for CarData free of charge and develop and offer services based on telematics data from connected BMWs and MINIs. As registered companies, service providers can already request access to telematics data from BMW and MINI vehicles in all European ConnectedDrive markets.
Markets supported by CarData:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
WHERE CAN I FIND CARDATA?
BMW customers can view telematics data and consent to its use by service providers on the BMW ConnectedDrive customer portal. MINI customers can do the same via the MINI Connected portal.
Service providers can use BMW CarData via the BMW Group’s Aftersales Online Services portal (AOS). The telematics data is transferred via the BMW CarData API.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS BY SERVICE PROVIDERS.
Telematics data is transferred to a server operated by the BMW Group via a secure mobile network connection. Service providers may obtain access to defined telematics data through an interface (REST) of the BMW Group server once the BMW or MINI customer has explicitly agreed that this data may be forwarded. Service providers must pay for the use of this data. Only data actually accessed and received by service providers must be paid for.
You will receive the latest data recorded in the vehicle and transmitted to BMW CarData. A real-time request of telematics data directly from the vehicle is not possible.
No. Not every BMW or MINI vehicle supports CarData. To check whether CarData can be used for a specific vehicle, service providers can request the CarData Capability Service for a certain vehicle identification number. This service specifies the technical capabilities of the vehicle, as well as available data and data transfer frequency. The service always provides information about vehicle capabilities at the time of request. Vehicle capabilities may change at a later date – for example, if the customer books an additional ConnectedDrive service or existing services expire.
Are you a service provider? Please email us at BMWCarData-B2BSupport@bmwgroup.com.
Are you a BMW or MINI driver? The BMW ConnectedDrive or MINI Connected customer hotline will be happy to answer your questions. You can find the contact details on the BMW ConnectedDrive or MINI Connected customer portal for your country.
