- Retrofit solution reports vehicle status to car dealers
- Market launch by end of second quarter 2014
T-Systems is turning auto mechanics into invisible passengers. At this year's CeBIT show, the Telekom subsidiary presents a retrofit kit for cars which transmits vehicle status data to the driver's smartphone as well as to his car dealer. Dealers can therefore contact individual car drivers when an incident occurs, offer them a more individual service and, at the same time, differentiate themselves from other auto shops. The solution is designed above all for connectivity in three to eight-year-old cars. A test with auto dealers is already underway, with the product scheduled for availability in several brands in the second quarter of the year. To establish the connection between his vehicle and smartphone, the car driver plugs a matchbox-size adapter into the socket of the on-board diagnostics system (OBD2) in the footwell of the vehicle. The adapter transmits data such as mileage, battery voltage and brake status via Bluetooth to the driver's smartphone. An app then shows the driver the status of his car at any time. Easy integration into dealer systems The app sends the data daily per mobile line to a T-Systems server, which analyzes the information and transmits relevant results to the dealer systems. The auto shop then uses the app's message function to make the car owner offers tailored precisely to the vehicle and its current status. If a vehicle is due for service or if the retrofit solution reports an error, the dealer is informed immediately through the direct channel. The auto shop then suggests a date for vehicle servicing or sends initial information about the error to the customer's smartphone. "We do not plan to enter the market for diagnostics devices that monitor vehicles but are focusing on an end-to-end solution that puts dealers closer to their customers and improves the quality of service," confirms Horst Leonberger, head of Deutsche Telekom's Connected Car unit. Thanks to state-of-the-art interfaces, the retrofit pack can be seamlessly integrated in dealers' existing customer relationship management systems (CRM), auto shop planning and process management. CustomerOne, T-Systems' CRM software developed especially for car dealerships, is already compatible with the solution. Presentation at CeBIT Autohaus Jürgens has been testing the retrofit solution from T-Systems since the end of 2013. The dealer has already won several awards for the quality of its service, and operates at fifteen locations in Germany's North-Rhine/Westphalia and Brandenburg regions. Autohaus Schade in Eisenach is another dealership that is currently testing the system, and more will be following suit this spring. Visitors to CeBIT 2014 can see the retrofit solution for themselves at the Deutsche Telekom stand. The system is on show there in a Mercedes A-Class car.
Experience our products and services live at CeBIT from March 10 - 14 at the Deutsche Telekom stand in hall 4, stand C26. Deutsche Telekom's entire presence at the trade fair is carbon-neutral: All CO2 emissions generated in setting up and operating the stand are offset fully by carbon-reduction projects abroad.
About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with over 142 million mobile customers, 31 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2013). The Group provides fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has approximately 229,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 60,1 billion in the 2013 financial year – more than half of it outside Germany. About T-Systems Drawing on a global infrastructure of data centers and networks, T-Systems operates information and communication technology (ICT) systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions. T-Systems provides integrated solutions for the networked future of business and society. Some 50,000 employees at T-Systems combine industry expertise and ICT innovations to add significant value to the digitization strategies and core business of customers all over the world. T-Systems generated revenue of around EUR 9,5 billion in the 2013 financial year.