Overview
Scope of the campaign: JRCMATICS is a driving data collection campaign based on telematics designed to monitor the real-world fuel consumption and energy efficiency in passenger cars operating across the EU. For this purpose, we are looking for recent cars (from 2021 onwards) to monitor their performance on the road and to have a snapshot of the fuel consumption and the corresponding actual CO2 emissions across the EU.
How is the data collected: The activity relies on the availability of On-Board Fuel and energy Consumption Monitoring (OBFCM), an innovative vehicle feature that enables to obtain fuel and energy consumption metrics. These quantities are read by the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) device we will provide you with, which sends these data telematically (via SIM card and internet connection) to a server hosted at JRC (EC) facilities.
How is fuel and energy consumption calculated: According to recent EU regulations, OBFCM vehicles need to monitor and store relevant quantities for the in-use performance assessment, such as total driven distance, total fuel consumed and total energy recharged from the electrical grid (the latter only for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles). These are cumulative values that preserve the whole vehicle lifetime. From the latest cumulative values, we can calculate the average lifetime fuel/energy consumption, anyhow we can also use their increments to derive average metrics over shorter time windows, for example over a single month or trip.
What do we use the data for: Fuel and energy consumption on the road might deviate significantly from the official values communicated to the users from the certification procedure. We are collecting data to improve consumer information and feed future regulations.
What do we monitor:
- Driving instantaneous parameters (every second)
- Vehicle speed
- Ambient temperature
- Engine parameters (rotational speed, load, temperature)
- Instantaneous fuel consumption and lifetime parameters from OBFCM
- Total driven distance (km)
- Total fuel consumed (L)
- Total energy recharged from the electrical grid (only plug-in hybrid electric vehicles)
Only if you agree, we will also monitor the location (GNSS) of your vehicle to give more context to the data we collect (i.e. by considering influencing factors such as altitude or weather conditions).
Vehicle requirements: The vehicle has to be OBFCM (EU6 AP ISC-FCM, from 2021 onwards). Check for EURO 6 AP in the vehicle’s registration certificate. Or simply contact us if you need help.
What is needed from your side: We will install a small device on the diagnostics port (OBD port) of the vehicle, and you shall continue using the car normally without additional care. The device sends data directly to our server hosted at JRC. The device does not interfere with your car, since it uses standardised protocols to connect to the vehicle and read the data safely.
Do you have access to your data: Absolutely. We are also working on a web-based interface that presents to users data about their driving habits and fuel efficiency, hopefully available soon. For the moment, we can share with you the overall data of fuel consumption and the raw files of specific trips upon request.
Will your name appear anywhere: There is no registration of personal information involved in what we do. The data collected are anonymized. Of course, we will acknowledge all participants in our dissemination (if they consent to).
Is there any requirement on the use of the vehicle: No, the scope of this campaign is to collect real-world fuel/energy consumption values from different users. No minimum mileage is required.
How long does the campaign last: As long as the user consents on the use.
Want to get involved? Sign up to our campaign
Do you want to help us inform and shape the next generation of transport policies? Do you want to gain more insights about the performance of your vehicle? Sign up to our JRCMATICS campaign!
How? Get in touch with us via email at: JRC-LDVS-CO2@ec.europa.eu
We will send you our Privacy Statement and Consent Form, which you’ll need to review and agree to before moving forward.
Once we receive your informed consent to collect and process your data, we will send you an OBD device along with clear instructions on how to connect it to your vehicle.
As soon as the OBD is installed, you’ll officially be part of our campaign! From that point on, you’ll receive a monthly report with valuable insights based on the data collected from your car.
Publications
Alessandro Tansini, Andres L. Marin, Jaime Suarez, Nestor F. Aguirre, Georgios Fontaras,
Learning from the real-world: Insights on light-vehicle efficiency and CO2 emissions from long-term on-board fuel and energy consumption data collection,
Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 335, 2025,