Leading Automakers and Technology Companies Advance Blockchain Vehicle Identities that Could Help Buyers Avoid Cars with Incorrect Mileage, Maintenance, or Damage Histories

MOBI Collaborates with BMW, Ford, and Others on Second Installment of a Vehicle Identity Standard for multi-stakeholder, interoperable mobility ecosystems of the future

We’ve all heard about rolled-back odometers and flood-damaged vehicles touted in better condition. BMW, Ford, and other transportation and blockchain leaders want to slow these practices by joining forces with an ambitious nonprofit startup developing technology to better track and protect vehicles’ true identities.

The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI)’s member-led Vehicle Identity (VID) II Working Group released the second installment of the industry’s vehicle identity on blockchain.

The VID II Standard leverages the VID I Standard (a vehicle birth certificate) to describe the use of VID in a variety of practical use cases. The two use cases focused on by the working group (WG) are vehicle registration and maintenance traceability. Vehicle registration on blockchain allows formerly disconnected vehicle registration systems between states and countries to connect using a secure, shared, and trusted ledger. Maintenance traceability will provide a tamper-proof history to buyers, regulators, and insurers, therefore reducing vehicle information asymmetry.

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“At BMW we strive to create seamless digital solutions. The reference architecture in the VID II standard is a crucial building block in the transformation to a frictionless and trusted mobility ecosystem,” said BMW’s Andre Luckow, Head of Emerging Technologies.

Global mobility leaders, startups, and large technology companies authored the VID II Standard to progress multi-stakeholder, interoperable mobility ecosystems. MOBI’s VID II Working Group is co-chaired by BMW and Ford, with support from Accenture, AWS, AutoData Group, Bosch, Car IQ, DENSO, DMX, Hitachi America, Ltd., Honda, IBM, Kar Auction Services, Luxoft, Quantstamp, Ownum, and USAA.

“A secure digital vehicle identity sets the foundation for a fully automatic network for usage-based transportation services,” said MOBI COO and Co-Founder, Tram Vo. “We expect this network for frictionless transfer of value in the New Economy of Movement to open up trillions of dollars of new opportunities to monetize vehicles, services, data, and infrastructure.”

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Additional use cases for VID include supply chain, automotive financing, electric vehicle charging, autonomous vehicle data exchange, and much more. VID II improves asset visibility, creating an anchor for additional use cases, data provenance, and autonomous economic agents.

“Ford believes this research into vehicle identity technology could lead to better ownership experiences,” says Cynthia Flanigan, Director, Vehicle Research and Technology, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. “We also think this technology could help simplify the purchasing process in the future.”

VID II is a building block to a future with more transparent, efficient, and safer vehicle registration and maintenance. Both the buyer and seller will have a more reliable record that can open up opportunities for increased market value for the seller and an increased sense of security for the buyer. Agencies that process vehicle records will reap the benefits of efficient processing and tracking of records.

MOBI and its members hope that the VID standards, together with other MOBI standards for blockchain applications in mobility, will reduce frictional inefficiencies, improve mobility services, and enable new business models.

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