Selling Your Data Not Worth It

Modern cars are surveillance machines. They collect copious amounts of data about owners, and automakers have been quite eager to sell it, but now that sentiment might be changing. According to a new survey, the auto industry might be pulling back from wanting to profit from your information.  

In Omdia’s latest Software-Defined Vehicle Survey, which collected responses from automotive industry professionals across seven markets about various topics, interest in monetizing vehicle data is declining. Between 2025 and 2026, interest has dropped by 7.0 percent globally. It declined the most in China, falling a whopping 25 percent. It fell 13 percent in North America.

According to the report, automakers are not only facing regulatory hurdles and customer backlash to the practice, but it has also not been profitable for them. It was recently revealed that General Motors reportedly made just $20 million over four years selling customer data.

Companies are learning that the data is far more valuable as a competitive advantage “when used internally than as a revenue stream when sold externally,” the report said. Vehicle data monetization remains the top priority, but it is declining as the focus shifts to improving advanced driver assistance systems.  

You can see this change at GM.

Since the Detroit automaker ended the practice of selling customer data following The New York Times report, it has placed greater emphasis on subscriptions, including Super Cruise. The automaker has said it is on pace to have over 850,000 Super Cruise subscribers by the end of 2026.  

Motor1’s Take: It never made sense why automakers would want to sell data that could increase ownership costs for their own customers when people will pay for privacy. Automakers shouldn’t turn the automobile into an adversary just to make a few million dollars a year when there are other ways to make an honest buck.