Top Auto Manufacturers, Secondhand Cars, and Blockchain

It is no secret that world-famous auto manufacturers make a lot of money. Interestingly, the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative or MOBI is a non-profit consortium of the world’s top vehicle manufacturers such as Ford, BMW, and others. MOBI launched an initiative to tackle car fraud when it comes to the secondhand markets with blockchain-powered “birth certificates”.

Let’s have a look at this initiative. Notably, it will leverage blockchain to track the registration as well as maintenance history of vehicles using MOBI’s second vehicle identification standard, “VID II”. People should take into account that the system will help reduce fraud when it comes to used vehicle markets.

Importantly, vehicle registration on the blockchain allows formerly disconnected vehicle registration systems between states and countries to connect using a shared, secured as well as a trusted ledger. People should keep in mind that maintenance traceability will provide a tamper-proof history to buyers, regulators as well as insurers. As a result, this novelty will reduce vehicle information asymmetry.

Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative and main findings

As stated above, Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative is a non-profit consortium, and let’s have a look at MOBI. It is worth mentioning that, MOBI’s VID II working group is co-chaired by BMW and another famous carmaker Ford. Honda, IBM, Hitachi America, Quantstamp, and others also support this initiative.

As a reminder, the VID I serves as the foundation for the VID II standard.  Interestingly, a secure digital vehicle identity sets the foundation for a fully automatic network for usage-based transportation services.

The consortium expects 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, etc. Interestingly, the New Economy of Movement in the U.S. is a group of organizations that are trying to restructure the current economic system.

The history of the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative dates back to May 2018. The mission of MOBI is to accelerate the adoption of blockchain in the automotive industry. They plan to do this by adopting a collaborative, open-space approach when it comes to developing tools and standards.

Last year more precisely in October MOBI launched a global standard for integrating blockchain into decentralized electric vehicle charging networks. Interestingly, the standard detailed systems for “vehicle-to-grid integration”. The purpose is to allow vehicles to store excess renewable energy generated by wind and solar, besides  “tokenized carbon credits” as well as “peer-to-peer applications”. Thanks to MOBI it will be easier to tackle car fraud.