Stellantis Launches Mobilisights: A Real Data Strategy at the Heart of Business

Exploiting data allows companies to remain competitive and guarantee future growth—and businesses are well aware of this. Consequently, all over the world, they are dedicating significant resources to new technologies to gain a competitive edge. But are they making the necessary investments to reach their goals? Stellantis answered this question affirmatively at CES 2023 by announcing the creation of Mobilisights, a Business Unit entirely dedicated to the growth of the company's data activities and associated B2B services. Mobilisights will leverage data from Stellantis' connected vehicles, which are expected to reach 34 million by 2030.

The announcement may seem purely technological, but it conceals major business stakes and a new market positioning for the brand. Let’s decode the role played by data in this new strategy.

A New Ecosystem

Mobilisights' data and products will be accessible to a diverse range of players, including private sector companies, public utilities, higher education institutions, and research institutes. In other words, using this data heritage, Stellantis aims to position itself strategically at the center of an ecosystem—at the heart of interactions that allow all stakeholders to improve or create innovative services. What kind of value will emerge? Which players will perceive this value and seize it? What monetization strategies could be used? Answering these questions through theory is difficult and would be unproductive, as the true value will reveal itself through usage.

Indeed, innovation comes primarily from ecosystems that prioritize a diversity of cultures, skills, and technical expertise. When an ecosystem is well-designed, it acts as a sounding board for capturing "weak signals" and consumer sentiment. When it also opens up to suppliers, partners, and academia, it forms a forum for identifying the innovations of tomorrow.

A New Business Model

Since the primary value of data is its utility, Stellantis seeks to share data widely to create new revenue streams (aiming to generate approximately €20 billion in annual revenue by 2030). All this while maintaining control of the source—the data transmitted from the vehicles—or more precisely, the access conditions to this data, its interfaces, and its products. With this positioning, Mobilisights will be able to compete with specialized players across numerous sectors: software providers, map makers, or insurers. Effectively exploiting sensor data and other information collected by connected vehicles can drive a wide range of services and applications. Use cases are manifold, whether in the manufacturer's core business (performance, vehicle maintenance, driving assistance) or in parallel industries (road risk management, usage-based insurance, targeted advertising, etc.).

Thanks to this future data heritage, Mobilisights can also position itself on societal and environmental issues: making cities smarter, optimizing customer travel, or even reducing pollution. This highlights an important aspect of Data Management: the future value of data. The data producer is not always the best placed to find economic value in the use of their own data. Sometimes, a third-party perspective is required to identify the full potential.

Data Protection and Usage

Regarding data governance and protection, this new positioning will undoubtedly spark debates over data ownership and usage. Who does the data belong to? What consents are required for which purposes? Can data be transmitted to trigger a remote service?

This raises the legal question of data ownership. Location, driving behavior, or even the license plate are considered personal data that can identify the vehicle owner. Ownership, therefore, rests with the driver.

The CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) has taken a stance in its "Compliance Pack: Connected Vehicles and Personal Data," which details various scenarios. Legislation is evolving alongside technology. A real battle over data usage is therefore to be expected. However, this example reveals a significant aspect of our digital society: data is everywhere, and it is everyone's business (including legal experts who will play a predominant role in the data activities of tomorrow).

« Legislation is evolving alongside technology. A real battle over data usage is therefore to be expected.»

Samuel Descroix

Data Fluent ?

Finally, the matter of collective buy-in—the transformation of organizations and the men and women within the company—is a subject in its own right. The manufacturer plans to rely on 4,500 engineers by 2024, including a thousand from within the company who will be reskilled through a "Software and Data" academy created for the occasion. Here we see that the success of this business transformation depends heavily on the employees' ability to adapt to these changes. On the HR side, data can be a genuine opportunity for companies to offer new career paths and trajectories, thus retaining talent—provided they are correctly supported through this transformation.

Once again, Stellantis demonstrates that the company possesses the internal strength and skills necessary to become truly "data-driven."

Samuel Descroix
Data Thinking Partner, Micropole, a Talan company*

Christian Poyau
Co-founder, Micropole, a Talan company*

*Micropole joined the Talan group in October 2024.