Nearly every automotive player has introduced some type of smartphone app to stay relevant and connected to its customers, illustrating the importance of integration solutions. Whether these apps are needed and are user friendly lie in the eyes of the beholder—or rather, the user.
To be sure, Europe is an important market to track in terms of telematics developments, with three monitored telematics solutions that have been on the market for quite some time—those from BMW, Volvo and PSA Peugeot Citroen. These three have now launched their own smartphone app for services, tailored for each original equipment manufacturer and its customers. BMW provides more options for its luxury market, while Volvo’s offerings are similar to those from BMW, and Citroen has more toned-down apps for its clients.
Assuming eCall goes through eventually, every OEM in Europe will have a monitored telematics solution. These OEMs would be wise to learn from \BMW, Volvo and PSA, given that most of the new OEMs more than likely will offer apps of their own.
My BMW remote
BMW’s iPhone app is available via Apple iTunes for all European countries that offer BMW ConnectedDrive services. The My BMW Remote app offers remote door lock/unlock, remote heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) control, a vehicle finder and a Google Local Search function that allows users to transfer the address or point of interest (POI) directly to the in-vehicle navigation system. Furthermore, users can activate the vehicle horn and lighting system to easily locate the vehicle in a large parking lot.
Judging by the online reviews, users are satisfied with what My BMW Remote has to offer. The one recurring problem mentioned is the time it takes to execute some functions, such as, the horn-honking feature. One iTunes reviewer argues that a regular vehicle key is much more convenient and also faster. Another complaint is that the app took more than three minutes to unlock the vehicle. A three-minute wait is justifi able, however, as a call to ADAC—the German version of AAA—would cost drivers much more time and money, IHS believes.
Volvo On Call
In February, Volvo and WirelessCar started offering the Volvo On Call app on all 2011 models sold in Sweden. Users are able to remotely start their car and have it warm up to a user-selected temperature via the user’s phone. When the vehicle reaches the temperature determined by the user, a text is sent back to the driver saying the vehicle is ready.
The app is found on Volvo’s Web site and can be downloaded for free. It only requires that the user’s phone be Java-enabled, and then the user can send a SMS text message to the car that starts the car and initiates the heater. The car must be equipped with Volvo On Call, and the user must be a current subscriber to the telematics service.
In recent news earlier this month, Volvo released its remote telemetry telematics application across Europe for Volvo On Call in countries where On Call is available for model year 2012 vehicles. It is available free to download from both the Android Market and iTunes App Store.
With this wider market entrance, the application allows for users to locate their vehicle, check the status of their vehicle’s windows and doors, lock/unlock doors, remotely start the heater, check vehicle information like vehicle identification number (VIN) and registration, and be notified if their car is being stolen.
Citroen eTouch
Another European OEM that offers a telemetry app is French OEM Citroen, which offers its eTouch iPhone App for multiple functions. The app is available in English and French, and can be downloaded from the iTunes store. The app includes information for the eco-driving function and telediagnostics function found on Citroen telematics services.
The eco-driving function notes how much carbon dioxide the drivers are emitting, what their weekly emissions are, how they compare to previous weeks, and then compares them to other Citroen eTouch users.
Examining the successes and failures
Each OEM has taken a different approach to its apps in terms of both services and pricing. Although the individual app itself might be free, the price for the services really should be incorporated as well because the app will not work without these services.
Other European OEMs should take note of these different approaches and observe the success or failures of these apps in the near future, since they might be offering their own. A user is not going to buy a car based on an app, but a useful, successful app will cause a driver to use telematics services on a more frequent basis. This is important to note because if OEMs can hook customers onto their services, manufacturers might fi nally fi gure out how to get customers to continually pay for premium services.
Find Out More > IHS iSuppli’s Automotive Research Portal—Infotainment—Europe