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For vehicle owners, fleet operators, leasing companies and mobility providers, the Data Act creates a clearer framework for accessing and sharing certain vehicle-generated data. But it is important to distinguish that from the idea that every piece of data inside a vehicle is now automatically or freely available.
What is the EU Data Act?
The EU Data Act is a European regulation covering access to and use of data generated by connected products and related services.
Under Chapter II, a user who owns, rents or leases a connected product can access certain data generated through its use. The user can also request that the data holder make qualifying data available to a third party chosen by the user.
For the automotive sector, this can include data generated by sensors and embedded systems relating to the operation, use and status of a vehicle. The European Commission issued specific guidance for vehicle data when the Data Act became applicable in September 2025.
There are, however, important boundaries. The regulation focuses on readily available data and does not require manufacturers to create or retain data that their products were not designed to retrieve. Inferred or highly derived data can also fall outside the scope. Personal data remains subject to GDPR and other applicable privacy rules, while security requirements and trade-secret protections can also affect how data is shared.
The Data Act therefore should not be understood as unrestricted access to every vehicle signal.
What changed one year on?
The first year has moved the discussion around connected-product data from future regulation to practical implementation.
There is also an important milestone in September 2026. The Data Act's Article 3(1) design obligation applies to connected products and related services placed on the market after 12 September 2026. It requires qualifying product and related-service data to be designed to be accessible to users in a secure, structured and machine-readable form and, where relevant and technically feasible, directly accessible.
For the automotive industry, this reinforces a broader shift toward making vehicle-generated data usable beyond the manufacturer's own applications.
That does not remove all practical complexity. Vehicle compatibility, user authorisation, OEM systems, available data points and technical interfaces still determine what data can actually be delivered for a particular vehicle.
Where connected car data comes into the picture
Modern vehicles already contain embedded connectivity, sensors and electronic control systems that generate information about how the vehicle is being used and its current state.
Depending on the manufacturer and vehicle, connected car data can include information such as mileage, location, charging status, battery level, fuel level, warning signals and other vehicle-health or operational information.
For businesses, access becomes most useful when these signals can flow directly into existing software. A fleet platform might use mileage and vehicle-status data for maintenance planning. A leasing company might use connected vehicle data to support contract and vehicle-management processes. An EV platform could use charging and battery information to optimise charging workflows.
The Data Act strengthens the framework under which users can access qualifying data and request that it be shared with third-party service providers. Connected-car APIs are one of the practical ways in which that data can then be delivered to business applications.
From data access to usable vehicle data
Access alone does not solve the entire technical problem.
Automotive manufacturers use different APIs, authentication methods, data structures and terminology. A company managing a multi-brand fleet could therefore still face significant integration work even when it has the right to request access to the relevant data.
This is where vehicle data infrastructure becomes important. Instead of treating every manufacturer as a completely separate integration, businesses can use an aggregation layer that standardises available OEM data before it reaches their applications.
The result is a more consistent technical foundation for building fleet management, vehicle health, maintenance, charging and other connected mobility services.
How High Mobility fits into the picture
High Mobility provides businesses with access to connected vehicle data from multiple automotive manufacturers through a single, standardised API. Vehicle data from different OEM sources is converted into a common data model so that applications do not need to work with a different structure for every supported brand.
This is separate from the legal rights established by the Data Act. High Mobility does not replace the regulation or determine what data a business is legally entitled to receive. Instead, it provides infrastructure that can help companies turn available and authorised OEM vehicle data into a usable, multi-brand data flow.
High Mobility works with official manufacturer data sources and supports workflows for vehicle eligibility, activation and data delivery. The exact data available continues to depend on factors including the manufacturer, model, market, vehicle equipment and applicable authorisation.
One year after the EU Data Act became applicable, the opportunity for businesses is therefore not simply "more vehicle data." It is the ability to build services around a clearer data-access framework while combining that access with the technical infrastructure needed to make multi-brand connected vehicle data usable at scale.
Want to understand how OEM vehicle data can be integrated into your fleet, leasing or mobility platform? Get in touch with High Mobility's experts to discuss your use case and available vehicle data.
