Te Connected Car Expo took place during the course of one day and featured vendor booths, speakers and panels, all focused on the future impact of in-car technology.
Tis year’s aftermarket featured a variety of custom vehicles, with a large showing from aftermarket retailer Al & Ed’s, among others.
Among the vendors present at CCE was Kevin Link, vice president of Verizon Telematics. Link explained that services for system include Safety and Security, Convenience (including a concierge function), Diagnostics and Emissions and Data Services (such as data on miles per gallon, top speed and driver behavior tips, among others).
vice president of marketing for Airbiquity. “Our main focus is to provide services updates and a data cloud to head units on a global level.” Frank further explained
that Airbiquity, which began as a tech services provider to power OnStar, has gone in the direction of a data cloud to be on the forefront of the connected car trend. Sprint-Velocity has moved in this direction with its own telematics service. Capabilities include compatibility with Telematics Control Units, OBD-II devices and in-dash head units. The company has two separate divisions for the connected car: One is Sprint Velocity, geared towards OEMs like Chrysler, which will use the system in its 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The other, Sprint Velocity Connect, will be offered as an aftermarket add-on. “It all comes down to how
data is used,” said Walter Fowler, a spokesman for Sprint Business. “In-vehicle data will change to allow us to
connect to dealers, auto repair shops, or whatever the driver needs. It’s all about how you enable technology.” To enable technology to work in the car, companies like Livio Connect act as liaisons between apps and hardware devices, like enabled head-units. “Hopefully this new concept of a connected car standard will take less than a few years to take off and be adopted,” said Nicole Yelland, director of marketing and commu- nications for Livio Connect. “As time goes on, we think Livio working as the new infotainment standard will be regarded in the same light as other great industry standard leaders like Bluetooth or USB for what we’re working on now. We also hope to continue to drive innovation in the car, keeping us safer and more connected than ever.” Many app and website de- velopers showcased how they can impact the future of the consumer driving experience. Parkopedia, a website and
22 Mobile Electronics January 2014
mobile app company, provides a service to help drivers find the nearest parking spaces, anywhere in the world. There were also start-ups like Zoox, which is looking beyond just the connected car with its con- cept of the fully autonomous vehicle, a sort-of taxi service that picks up passengers and drops them off, driver free.
Tech Possibilities Technological advances are progressing faster than automakers can keep up with, current with the consumer trends. Transparency Market Research reports that the global connected car market is expected to reach $131.9 billion in revenue by 2019. Considering CEA data that the average age of cars on the road is 11 years old, Trans- parency’s findings imply that the lion’s share of this profit would be available to the aftermarket. “This is a critical time for our industry. With the emer- gence of in-car infotainment and converging technologies,
there is a lot of info out there to add value to the dash- board,” said Steve Witt, vice president of mobile and audio technologies for Audiovox Electronics. “The possibilities are endless.” Witt added that, as consum-
er preferences move towards newer kinds of in-car technol- ogy, the need for cooperation between the aftermarket and OEMs will grow. “Ten to 12 years ago, when
evidence became clear that the traditional aftermarket began to change, automakers came out with technologies to compete with the aftermar- ket,” Witt added. “The reality is that many automakers aren’t willing to make big in- vestments in staffing in-house. This allows opportunity for the aftermarket. The industry has to reinvent itself. It’s lost some players over the years, but those left standing are smarter than ever.”
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