The connected car is a hot topic, and a broad one, too – consider issues like the car within the Internet of Things (IoT), navigation, telematics, usage-based insurance (UBI) and automotive cyber security. Consider, too, the connected services that are still in the early stages of development, like ride sharing, car sharing and the car as a payment device – and of course the services that have yet to be thought up.
Far from exclusive to the OEMs, the connected car is attracting other traditional and – more significantly – non-traditional industry players; automotive suppliers and consumer electronics giants, telecommunications companies (telcos), hardware suppliers, software developers, chip manufacturers, music streaming services, credit card providers, insurance companies and lawyers – all are keen to get involved (Read: Special report: Connected cars).
Far from exclusive to the OEMs, the connected car is attracting other traditional and – more significantly – non-traditional industry players
The connected car offers new business opportunities, challenges, threats, and possibilities. Get it right, and all those involved can benefit from everything that connected services, autonomous driving, new mobility concepts and electrification can offer.
The question for all parties, however, is how to monetise the connected car. Key here is ensuring everything is in place and ready, including infrastructure, accurate mapping, on-board technology, Cloud and server capability, data analytics, 4G/LTE/5G network reliability, appropriate latency and of course a robust legal framework.
But once in place, who will pay for the connected car – and how? Consumers already pay for connected services at home and in their pockets – will they want to pay an additional tariff for their car? Or will the car become a plus-one to the telco sector’s current push for so-called ‘quad-play’ that already bundles together home phone, broadband, TV and cell phone?
OEMs and suppliers are under pressure to offer maximum infotainment, maximum safety and security, and minimum driver distraction. Can it be done? Or is the requirement to be a connected services provider distracting OEMs from the core task of developing great cars, and spreading the suppliers too wide?
OEMs and suppliers are under pressure to offer maximum infotainment, maximum safety and security, and minimum driver distraction. Can it be done?
We’ll know in the next few years; if it cannot be done, expect the OEMs and suppliers to call in help in the form of partnerships and acquisitions. It’s already happening: the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) saw partnership announcements from SEAT, SAP and Samsung on payment; Visa and Honda, also on payment; and a tie-up between Accenture and SEAT on car-to-home connectivity, car status alerts, and driver behaviour monitoring.
Over the next few years, we’ll also have better visibility over the direction that connected car development is likely to take. The ultimate connected car is without doubt the autonomous car – but that’s a subject that requires entirely separate analysis.
Follow this link to download a copy of ‘Special report: Connected cars‘
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Martin Kahl is Editor, Automotive World
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