The Washington Auto Show, which begins this week in our nation’s capital, will help to highlight in real ways the evolution of one of America’s most iconic industries. With electrified and high-tech vehicles on display, it’s also a showcase for some of the data and digital transformation considerations now beginning to affect the auto sector.
The Digital Transformation Network released a report in July 2022 that illustrates how digital transformation is improving the safety, connectivity, and sustainability of the auto industry. As digital solutions are integrated into products and operations, growth and innovation has followed.
For instance, BSA members like SAP are supporting the proliferation of electric vehicles. SAP has developed E-mobility solutions that gives companies access to integrated cloud-based software to help build, run, and monitor EV charging networks at scale, end to end, on one platform. IBM is helping to improve the accuracy of object detection in driverless vehicles by partnering with Lunewave to deploy 3D-printed sensors that integrate with IBM’s machine learning tools.
Important policy considerations are coming into focus with the digital transformation of the auto industry. Autonomous and connected vehicles generate as much as 30 terabytes of road, vehicle, and other types of data each day, which helps enable manufacturers to address efficiency and performance – sometimes through predictive maintenance – via satellite and cloud-enabled technologies. Cross-border data transfers also enable global engineering teams to collaborate throughout product development and production, according to the Global Data Alliance. Unfortunately, some governments have begun to mandate the localization of data relating to the automotive operation or performance, making cross-border collaboration on safety, emissions, and performance.
At the same time, the automotive industry depends on a carefully-calibrated cross-border supply chain – disruptions to which prompted parts shortages and temporary production shutdowns in recent years. As Automotive World reported recently, these automotive supply chains are enduring their own digital transformation to leverage data to anticipate and react to supply chain disruptions.
The Global Data Alliance has highlighted the important role of cross-border data transfers in supply chain management and logistics. Cross-border data transfers are helping automotive suppliers (and companies across a variety of industries) integrate their supply chains, better manage inventory, and more accurately forecast demand.
The Global Data Alliance and BSA | The Software Alliance have been at the forefront of advocacy for digital trade laws and policies that will ensure the continued flow of data and other measures that promote the digital transformation of the auto industry and its supply chain. To learn more about how to access BSA’s policy expertise on these issues, please contact Global Data Alliance Executive Director Joe Whitlock at joseph@bsa.org.
