As part of a global survey, the management consultancy asked 1,500 Germans whether they would be willing to share their data if they owned a connected car. A third of respondents (32 percent) said they would not. Internationally, this is a peak value. For comparison: in China, the number of total deniers is just 6 percent according to the survey.

So are people in this country actually more critical when it comes to sharing data? Deloitte partner Elmar Pritsch advises taking a closer look at the background: “In my view, Germans are not particularly critical, because personal data is also willingly shared via social media. The problem is that the benefits of networked mobility are not yet apparent to many.”

In Asia, there have long been large digital ecosystems that help people to get from A to B quickly, Pritsch continues. Drivers are integrated into familiar conveniences such as simple payment via QR code. Digitalization in Germany, on the other hand, is very fragmented. “There are many different, sometimes local apps for just parking. Here, unfortunately, we are lagging behind,” says Pritsch

OEMs in the driver’s seat

If they were to entrust one company or institution with their data, it would be car manufacturers in the first place, the Deloitte study continues. 20 percent of Germans surveyed named OEMs, followed by vehicle dealers (12%) and insurance companies (10%).

“OEMs are actually predestined to form alliances with other partners and jointly develop digital standards for scaling ecosystems,” says Pritsch. The Germans surveyed were most in favor of connectivity services relating to traffic jams and alternative routes (56%). 54% would be interested in updates on maintenance and vehicle condition, 52% in updates to improve road safety and collision avoidance.

However, over half of those surveyed stated that they would not want to pay more for such services. Only 20 percent would do so. This means that in the focus markets surveyed by Deloitte, the willingness to pay is lowest in Germany. The other markets are China, India, South Korea, the USA, Japan and South East Asia.