Blockchain Applications
Privacy & Identity

The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI), which collaborates with leading automakers such as Ford and BMW, has released the second iteration of its Vehicle Identity (VID) Standard blockchain technology.

The release of the VID II Standard improves on the scope of the VID I Standard released back in 2019. The first iteration of VID served as a birth certificate to provide a master record for the date of vehicles’ creation, whereas VID II now incorporates vehicle registration and maintenance traceability into the ledger.

MOBI anticipates this will allow formerly disconnected vehicle registration systems between states and countries to connect on a secure blockchain ledger; whilst also providing a tamper-proof maintenance history to buyers, regulators, and insurers, therefore reducing vehicle misinformation.

The VID II Standard’s production was co-chaired by BMW and Ford, with support from automotive companies, startups, and large technology companies such as Accenture, AutoData Group, Car IQ, Honda, IBM, and Quantstamp.

MOBI and its members expect VID’s ongoing development to revolutionise the mobility industry. “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.

VID II is a step towards more transparent, efficient, and safer vehicle registration and maintenance where the buyer and seller will have a more reliable record that can open up opportunities for increased market value and security.

“A secure digital vehicle identity sets the foundation for a fully automatic network for usage-based transportation services [which will] open up trillions of dollars of new opportunities to monetize vehicles, services, data, and infrastructure,” added MOBI COO and co-founder, Tram Vo.

BMW has been variously involved in prior blockchain initiatives. In April, as this publication reported, the automotive manufacturer is ‘continuing to use blockchain technology to trace and track components and raw materials multi-stage international supply chains’.

Photo by Artur Aldyrkhanov on Unsplash