"Integration of smartphones in cars is critical"

Andrew

Andrew Tolve

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10th October 2011

Briefly, what does your department/company do?

I am responsible for the cross-functional coordination of strategies, plans and activities for Volvo Cars related to Connectivity.

We have organized this in a cross-functional HUB called Connectivity HUB. I am the Director of this HUB.

What is your role in the Telematics market?

It depends on which perspective you look at Volvo Cars.

If you talk about our Volvo OnCall offer with Safety, Security & Convenience functions, we are present in 12 countries and have services in 14 countries in Europe.
We also sell this system in Brasil and Russia. That together with our recently introduced remote functions using mobile apps makes us one of the leading OEMs in Europe in this area.

What was the most challenging part of 2010/2011 for your company and how was it overcome?

The most challenging part of 2011 is to launch the new upgraded version of Volvo OnCall with remote functions using mobile apps. It requires completely new cooperation in Volvo Cars and forces us to think outside the box.

What challenges do you think the telematics industry still faces?

There are two big challenges to overcome.

The first is roaming cost. We have to find ways to make it possible for European consumers to cross borders and still have the possibility to use their connectivity functions in the car without getting ruined financially.

The second is Driver Distraction where the OEMs have a great opportunity to create connectivity functions with a HMI that makes it possible to use your favorite connectivity functions when driving the car.

With so much competition among automakers, can technical openness succeed? How do you see the industry addressing the challenges of open innovation?

Open innovation is very good when it comes to reducing cost for investments. It will be beneficial both for the consumer and the OEM.

It could of course also be problematic when it comes to new technologies and parts that differentiate brands.

There are some initiatives right now in the connectivity area. We will see in the future how successful they are.

What key topics or issues you are looking at discussing with the industry at the show and why are they important for moving the industry forward?

I think we will continue to discuss driver distraction as a threat and opportunity.
We will also discuss operating systems and content for cars.

What developments/trends do you see impacting the industry over the next 2 to 5 years?

Integration of smartphones in cars will be critical. Platforms that facilitate this integration, like Terminal mode, iPod Out, Bluetooth, WLAN, VNC, Airplay, NFC etc., will play an important roll in shaping the future of the telematics industry.

Cloud services will be another key trend. What functions can be run in the cloud instead of being native codes in the car is important for the industry to define.

The In-Vehicle Smartphone Integration Report (http://www.telematicsupdate.com/smartphonereport/index)shtml) gives further insight into OEM's strategies with comprehensive graphs, stats and figures and focuses on how to secure a place in this lucrative market.