Bosch, CARIAD to collect driving data in Canadian cities through December

Robert Bosch GmbH and CARIAD SE plan to use test vehicles to collect data in 20 Canadian cities from July through December 2026 to support automated driving research. The project may capture personal information, including video and images, and includes privacy safeguards, retention limits and cross-border data transfers.

Why it matters: - The data collection will help Bosch and CARIAD improve driver assistance and automated driving systems. - The project may capture personal information in public spaces, including faces and license plates, which puts privacy safeguards at the center of the effort. - The notice also spells out where data may travel, including Germany and other countries, which matters for Canadian privacy oversight.

What happened: - Robert Bosch GmbH and CARIAD SE said test vehicles may collect information in Canadian cities from approximately July 2026 to December 2026. - The cities include Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Markham, Kitchener, Windsor, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Montréal and Québec City. - Tim Wieland is listed on the notice for Bosch.

The details: - Clearly marked test vehicles will operate in public areas and, where permitted, in private or controlled environments. - The vehicles are equipped with sensors, including cameras, that may capture video, images and related environmental data. - The project includes video and photographic images of the surrounding environment. - The data may incidentally capture individuals, faces and license plates. - The information is processed primarily to understand environmental characteristics. - The data is not used to identify individuals. - No biometric data is generated as part of the project. - Personal information collected during the project will be retained only as long as necessary for the stated research and development purposes. - Anonymized or aggregated data may be retained indefinitely for research purposes. - Personal information may be shared with affiliates and service providers for data processing, storage or analysis under contractual obligations to protect the information. - Personal information collected in Canada may be transferred to, stored in and processed in Germany and other countries where Bosch, CARIAD or their service providers operate. - Data transferred outside Canada may be subject to local laws and may be accessible to law enforcement or government authorities under those laws. - For transfers outside Quebec, a privacy impact assessment was conducted under Quebec privacy law. - Contractual and technical safeguards are in place to protect the information. - The notice says people under Canadian privacy laws have the right to access their personal information, request corrections, withdraw consent and request deletion, subject to legal requirements. - The notice links to the full privacy notice for more information about the data collection and privacy rights. - Privacy inquiries and rights requests can be sent to Bosch's Data Protection Officer in Stuttgart at DPO@bosch.com. - Privacy inquiries and rights requests can be sent to CARIAD's Data Protection Officer in Wolfsburg at privacy@cariad.technology. - Quebec residents can complain to the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec. - Other complaints can be filed with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Between the lines: - The notice shows how automated driving research increasingly depends on real-world road data, not just controlled testing. - The privacy language suggests the companies are trying to limit legal risk by emphasizing retention limits, anonymization and transfer safeguards. - The cross-border transfer disclosure signals that Canadian data governance will be part of the operating challenge, not just the technical one.

What's next: - Test vehicle collection is expected to continue through December 2026. - People in the listed cities may see marked research vehicles on public roads during that period. - Privacy requests and complaints will likely be handled through the contacts and regulators named in the notice.