In a letter to the US Federal Trade Commission late last week, US Senators Ron Wayde and Edward Markey revealed that Honda and Hyundai sold driver data to Verisk Analytics, a data broker, for surprisingly little profit.
Automakers have been under increased scrutiny in the last few months regarding their data collection policies and how they get consent to share that information with third parties. Investigations have revealed that some automakers have been selling driver information to data brokers who packaged and sold it to insurance companies.
According to the letter, Honda shared data from 97,000 cars with Verisk between 2020 and 2024. Owners who opted into Honda’s Driver Feedback program through the company’s mobile app had their data disclosed to the analytics company, which paid Honda $25,920—or just 26 cents per car.
Hyundai sold quite a bit more data to Verisk between 2018 and 2024 of users who enabled their car’s internet connectivity, automatically enrolling those drivers in the automaker’s Driving Score program “without telling them,” according to the US Senators. It sold data from 1.7 million vehicles for roughly $1 million, or 61 cents per car.
In April, Verisk shut down the product that scored drivers on their driving habits based on data from internet-connected cars. General Motors also sold data from consumers enrolled in its Smart Driver program to Verisk; however, the company didn’t disclose to the senators the number of cars involved or the amount paid.
The letter also accuses the automakers of making deceptive claims about the potential outcomes of their respective programs, highlighting potential discounts instead of possible rate hikes. Wayde and Markey asked FTC Chair Lina Kahn to investigate how automakers disclose and share consumer data. Motor1 has reached out to Honda and Hyundai to confirm the numbers in the letter.
Automakers seem eager to be able to collect your driving data and know more about your driving habits than ever before, but at what cost? Anything with a computer chip, an internet connection, and a sensor or two can collect and transmit data that a company can then share and sell to various third parties, including your insurance company, who can easily recoup what they paid to get that data with a few rate hikes.
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