A few days back I posted in a thread (can't remember which one) that the Mazda USA website revealed their cars there are fitted with Telematic Control Units which are activated by Mazda before delivery and thereafter automatically transmit a vast amount of data back to Mazda. This covers both the functioning of the car and your driving, including GPS data. As there is nothing equivalent mentioned on the Mazda UK website I asked them about my car and received this reply.

Although UK cars currently contain a Telematics Control Unit (TCU) which works in conjunction with the eCall system, there is currently no data being collected by the vehicle and transmitted to Mazda. Our 7th generation vehicles will have this capability pre-installed as a dormant feature that can be activated in the future if required. This will enable Mazda to collect diagnostic data from the vehicle and provide enhanced services to ensure customers receive the very best service. However, the architecture to support this is still under development and our current understating is that this feature will not be in place until 2021; where a suitable privacy policy will then be available.

Fair enough but Mazda are usually behind the game with in-vehicle electronics so that set me wondering how many other brands in the UK already have this feature. And if so how many owners know it is there? I assume that in Europe GDPR applies so owners need to agree. However, you sign a variety of forms when collecting a new car and how many of us bother to read through every line of the small print on the back? Also if you say no will you be threatened with dire consequences for your car and possibly invalidate parts of the warranty?