A report from Navigant Research analyzes the landscape for customer-facing transportation data services, and says that by 2025, the number of vehicles that include telematics systems could number almost half a billion.

OEMs and suppliers are aware of the security risks in customer-facing transportation data services. The report, “Data Services for Automotive Applications,” looks at the market for customer-facing transportation data services, including regulatory drivers, implementation issues, and potential products related to automotive data services. The report says that nearly 430 million vehicles in use globally are expected to have built-in telematics by 2025. The report also examines the competitive landscape of that industry and enabling technologies that relate to transportation data services.

In addition to customers, the report identifies players in the transportation data services value chain: OEMs, frequently the main conduit to the consumer and collector of data from built-in systems; the supply chain that produces the hardware that is integrated into vehicles, along with the network operators that enable data collection over rapidly evolving wireless technologies, form the next layer; and data end-users that also provide the services back to the consumer, such as insurers, automotive service outlets, media streaming providers, and even nontraditional automotive companies such as Apple and Google.

The report also addresses technical and market Issues that could affect the landscape of connected services in vehicles. The expansion of those services could bring increased risk of cyber attacks in the form of data hacks that could be used to steal information or money, or via a remote takeover for the purpose of extortion. Navigant says that OEMs and suppliers acknowledge this risk and are working to secure vehicle systems so that consumers’ worries over data privacy are minimized by the time connected services become mainstream.

By the mid-2020s, all but the lowest-priced vehicles in the developed markets of North America and Western Europe are expected to be equipped with data connections, the report says. Other markets, especially in Asia Pacific, will grow rapidly.

Connectivity for these systems will happen through either built-in or brought-in hardware solutions. The former primarily consist of cellular data modems, while the latter include either paired phones or onboard diagnostics port adapters with cellular radios.

A free executive summary of the report is available at NavigantResearch.com. Registration is required.