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The intention is to “offer value-added services to purchasers of any vehicle – un-tethered to the proprietary technology of individual vehicle manufacturers”.
This will include automated reminders for the next oil change, to remote diagnostic information, and other location-based services.
“To date, car dealers have been unable to offer a connected car solution directly to customers,” says Thomas Kiessling, Chief Product and Innovation Officer, Deutsche Telekom. “They can now generate additional revenue streams and offer their customers new value-added services.”
Deutsche Telekom provides both the telemetry hardware for the vehicles as well as the SIM-cards and data connections.
Un-Blinking Technologies supplies Android and iPhone apps, along with a Web portal to give customers access to their vehicle-provided data.
Progressive Seattle area automotive group Barrier Motors in Bellevue has already equipped 1,500 cars from their Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, and Volvo brands with the iCar Intelligent Car Technology Package.
After the successful completion of this initial launch Deutsche Telekom and Un-Blinking plan to introduce the product to 300 additional car dealerships across the US.
The iCar M2M system means a mobile app or a Web portal can be used to monitor a vehicle information including consumption data and the location of their cars at all times.
