Automakers are scrambling to one-up each other with high-tech systems that allow drivers to maintain a digital lifestyle while the key is in the ignition.
But it takes three to five years to bring a new car to market, while digital platforms and software change constantly.
That dilemma will be addressed at the annual Telematics Detroit conference today and Thursday at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. More than 1,800 auto and telecommunications industry leaders are expected to attend.
«My concern is that the industry is setting itself up to overreach and overestimate consumer demand for these things,» said Thilo Koslowski, who leads auto industry analysis for the Gartner technology research firm.
General Motors’ Cadillac, for example, is launching a new touch-screen system called Cadillac User Experience. The technology will be standard in the new XTS full-size sedan and optional in the new ATS compact sedan.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW are seen as the digital front-runners in Europe, while Ford’s MyFord Touch is viewed as the market leader in North America, according to a study by consultancy Accenture.
The connected-vehicle services market — which includes navigation assistance, entertainment systems, software and hardware designed to boost driver safety — is expected to rise from $70 billion in 2012 to $80 billion in 2014, Accenture reported. There will be unavoidable competition between automakers and technology companies about how that lucrative pie is divvied up.
For telecommunications providers, who don’t sell a product worth an average of $30,000, the additional revenue is particularly attractive.
Here are key questions automakers must answer:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has pressured automakers to reduce driver distraction, but connectivity systems are a key source of profitability. Sascha Simon, manager of advanced product planning for Mercedes-Benz USA, said companies must «work with lawmakers in order to ensure that future legislation is specific enough to allow safety technologies to go forward while preventing things you shouldn’t do in the car, like texting.»
This year, Mercedes-Benz launched a new infotainment system called mbrace2, whose functions include specially designed apps for Facebook, Google and Yelp. The system prevents drivers from physically inputting information while the car is in motion. They must speak commands instead.
«If we don’t allow this in a very safe, controlled environment, they will use their smartphones,» Simon said.
«A 35-year-old in the U.S. might drive their ATS and want different things than an Italian 35-year-old with an ATS,» GM OnStar spokesman Vijay Iyer said.
Dave Miller, chief security officer for Compuware’s Covisint unit, said young car shoppers have set a high bar for digital connectivity in the vehicle. «There’s a feeling that the experience I have in my vehicle will mirror the experience I have everywhere else,» he said.
The Telematics 2012 conference includes speakers from such non-auto companies as Facebook, Microsoft, Nokia and Verizon Wireless.
«One of the tough lessons the automotive industry is going to have to learn is the connected vehicle is not going to center around the automotive universe,» Koslowski said. «That is going to be one of the bitter pills for the auto industry to swallow.»
Covisint’s Miller said auto companies will need to be aware of basic digital issues like the consumer’s desire for an easy log-in experience. «People don’t even like typing passwords in,» he said.
Contact Nathan Bomey: 313-223-4743 or nbomey@freepress.
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