Automechanika, the circular economy, and all that data

Oakdene Hollins spoke to Automechanika on how the Chinese view remanufacturing, and learned about the issues to the circular economy of data collection and management.

David Fitzsimons addressed the Automechanika event organised by the SMMT in Birmingham in June, which was attended by over 10,000 people. (The aftermarket for vehicles is clearly thriving!)  David spoke about his recent meetings in Beijing and Shanghai and the position China is taking on remanufacturing.

One of the biggest issues on the agenda was how data will be managed by OEMs. Cars are already packed with sensors and the information can be useful for the maintenance of the vehicle. OEMs want that data, much as your mobile phone operator or Google want it as well. And caught in the middle of this are the independent garage trade and remanufacturing companies. Will they be excluded from the data? Will they be asked to pay to access it?

Sylvia Gotzen and Neil Pattemore from trade association FIGIEFA provided their own insight to the debate and how the European Commission could help to protect consumers. This is a policy issue that has legs. It has implications for the circular economy goals that are being discussed in conferences around the world, thanks to the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Oakdene Hollins is glad to be participating in it.

We will be following up by attending the SMMT launch of the 17th Sustainability Report, and the Jaguar LandRover REALCAR event in London in July. For more information about REALCAR (REcycled ALuminium CAR), please visit the Jaguar Landrover newsroom.