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Interviewer: Joel Cloralt
Joel: Sarah, you joined Smartcar in March 2024 to lead Partnerships during a really pivotal period. For anyone who hasn’t met you yet, what’s your background and what brought you here?
Sarah:
I’ve spent most of my career in mobility, specifically in partnerships, ecosystems, and figuring out how different players can come together to create reinforcing value. When I first encountered Smartcar, what struck me was the clarity and conviction of its mission: unlock the freedom of movement for everyone.
As someone who has spent years in connected mobility, and as a driver myself, that mission resonated deeply. Smartcar wasn’t just building an API platform; it was reshaping how people can use their vehicles in ways that are safe, transparent, and fully in their control.
I joined because I could see how strategic OEM partnerships could take this mission to the next level.
Joel: You’re now about 20 months into your Smartcar journey. What has this period looked like for you?
Sarah:
Fast-paced, collaborative, and full of breakthroughs! Over the last 20 months, we’ve announced collaborations with BMW and Mercedes-Benz Connectivity Services (MBCS) in the energy space in Europe, expanded our work with Ford in Europe, and continued strengthening our work with VW Group of America and Tesla.
Working this closely with OEMs, and with our developer community, has really helped us dig deeper into driver value propositions. It’s opened doors to new ways of innovating, new data opportunities, and insights that are now shaping future roadmaps.
It’s been a period of real momentum, and honestly, a lot of fun.
Listen to the interview:
Joel: Can you share what’s next? Any sneak peeks?
Sarah:
We’re definitely not slowing down. Over the next few weeks, I’m hoping to announce three more collaborations, each one bringing new value for developers across North America and Europe.
If 2024 was about foundation, 2025 was definitely about acceleration.
Joel: Let’s talk about developers. What do these OEM partnerships actually mean for them?
Sarah:
Two things above all: peace of mind and value.
Working collaboratively with OEMs means we understand upcoming changes earlier and in many cases, we can influence them. That translates directly into reduced disruption and higher reliability & availability for developers.
It often unlocks access to new data points, commands, and functionality, which enables richer products and more value for drivers. Developers get a clearer roadmap, a more stable integration surface, and a faster path to customer impact.
Joel: Have these partnerships changed how you work with developers?
Sarah:
In the best ways. This year we rolled out a completely new data delivery method, developers can now subscribe to vehicle signals and receive data as soon as it’s available. No polling. No inefficiencies. Just fresh, clean data delivered when they need it.
Combined with our OEM partnerships, this has levelled up the value we provide across the board.
And importantly, we’ve done all of this without changing our transparent, one-price-per-vehicle model. Developers only pay for what they need, whether that’s a small set of signals or the full breadth of data and commands. We’re an enabler, not a competitor. Our whole purpose is to enable developers across multiple mobility sectors.
I’m proud that we’ve kept that commitment as we’ve scaled.
Joel: A lot of companies offer connected vehicle solutions. When people ask how Smartcar is different, how do you explain it?
Sarah:
Well, for anyone who knows me, I love food, and I love a good analogy, so those two things tend to overlap quite a bit!
If what you need is a chocolate cake, there are plenty of great companies out there selling a ready-made chocolate cake off the shelf. It’s packaged, it does what it says, and you’ll usually pay a premium for it.
But not everyone wants an off-the-shelf cake. Some people want to create something unique: a five-tier cake, a flourless cake, a cake that incorporates ingredients they already have in their own pantry. That’s where Smartcar is different.
We don’t insist you take the cake as-is. We give you the ingredients. As many or as few as you need.
You can subscribe to our signals, our commands, and bake your own masterpiece.
For developers, that flexibility is everything. It means you can innovate without limits, build precisely what your customers need, and only pay for the ingredients you actually use.
Smartcar isn’t here to compete with creators. We’re here to empower them.
Joel: And on the OEM side? What’s the value for them?
Sarah:
OEMs want drivers to safely and easily connect with third-party apps. But for many supporting thousands of developers directly isn’t always practical for them, commercially or operationally.
That’s where Smartcar sits: right in the middle.
We give OEMs a trusted channel partner that preserves data lineage, protects driver privacy, and ensures secure access. OEMs that work with us gain reach, compliance, and growth without additional overhead.
This is especially important with the EU Data Act coming into force. We’re helping OEMs prepare for a world where driver directed data access, transparency, and consent are absolutely essential, and where the ecosystem grows far beyond first-party apps.
Joel: Final question… what should people expect from Partnerships next year?
Sarah:
You’ll have to wait and see! But what I can say is: we are not slowing down.
Ecosystem enablement is something I’m incredibly passionate about, and this year has laid the groundwork for partnerships that will allow us to do significantly more in 2026.
At its core, our work is about creating a connected mobility ecosystem where OEMs, developers, and drivers all gain more value, not just for today’s use cases, but for what comes next.
