New BMW cars in Germany will soon be able to automatically dial emergency services in the event of a crash and advise the driver how to avoid traffic jams thanks to new technology from Vodafone.
Starting this summer, all new BMW series vehicles will be fitted with a specially adapted mobile SIM chip supplied by Vodafone Germany. The Vodafone SIM, which will link BMW up to its vehicles, will provide customers with access to innovative in-car services such as the BMW Online Services, a 24/7 personal concierge service for BMW drivers and an emergency call function.
The five-year agreement between Vodafone Germany and the BMW Group involves fitting SIM cards within the vehicles at the assembly plant. The service being provided by Vodafone is based on machine-to-machine technology, which allows different devices to communicate with each other. The Vodafone SIM has a lifespan of more than ten years, can withstand temperatures from minus 40 to heat of 85 degrees centigrade and is coated with anti-corrosive protection.
In the future, this technology will become even more crucial for the automotive sector with the introduction of eCall – the automatic vehicle emergency call system in that is being planned by the European Union. From 2015 onwards, all new cars will be fitted with latest mobile data connection and SIM card that automatically calls the emergency services in the event of an accident.
Analysts see the in-vehicle connectivity as a growing market that will be worth billions by 2020.