BMW is among automakers forming a data-sharing alliance with German industrial and technology companies including SAP, Siemens, Robert Bosch and ZF Friedrichshafen as Europe’s biggest economy fights to recover ground lost to U.S. and Chinese competition.
Industrials giant Siemens and technology firm SAP will collaborate with BMW to build a cloud-based data exchange platform that does not rely on U.S. or Chinese technology.
Telecom giant Deutsche Telekom will also take part in the project.
The platform will enable German automakers and their suppliers to identify production bottlenecks or parts shortages, helping them to avoid some of the production outages seen earlier this year due to coronavirus lockdowns.
The alliance’s data-sharing platform will use the European Gaia-X cloud service and not U.S. or Chinese data hosts like Amazon.com or Alibaba Group Holding.
Geopolitical tensions and trade wars are making European politicians cautious about domestic champions ceding control of their data to external companies, fearing European companies could lose control of sensitive information about customers or production.
The automotive alliance will “ensure value-added manufacturing and employment in Europe are secured,” German economy minister Peter Altmaier said.
