 |
|
04-Jul-06 Hong Kong, July 4, 2006 – Fusion Consulting has released research showing that Japan, China and South Korea are likely to lead Asia in the use of telematics in automobiles in the Asia Pacific by 2009. Telematics, which is the integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, allows drivers to access traffic information, entertainment, location information, web content and more while on the go. Telematics is being pursued by auto makers because it offers a new branding platform, shifting from functionality-based branding to lifestyle-based branding, as well as hardware, software and services based revenue opportunities. Ancillary industries including telecom, media and finance also stand to benefit from the adoption of telematics in cars. Already the largest motor vehicle production base in Asia, Japan also has highest ICT spending consumption as a percentage of GDP in Asia. Cars in Japan already have equipment enabling the occupants to access the Internet and even shop online. For example, Toyota already has a Telematics product "G-book" in place, allowing drivers to access traffic information and entertainment. Over the long-term, China's telematics market potential has very strong potential, given its rapid growth in motor vehicle production and sheer market size. Between year 1990 and year 2000, the vehicle density (number of vehicles per kilometre of road) in China rose 10.7% per annum. Telecommunications companies in China are also eyeing opportunities in Telematics. For example, China Mobile offers an industry-specific Telematics solution for the transportation sector. It offers taxi fleet management solutions, allowing taxi operators to deploy vehicles, organize bookings and monitor traffic situations. In South Korea, both the public sector and government sector have been active in promoting Telematics. The Government has designated Telematics as one of the key growth momentum areas for the country's overall infocomm development. Car manufacturers e.g. Hyundai and KIA are collaborating to offer Telematics products and services. Looking to the future, it is expected that on-demand entertainment and V-commerce (vehicle commerce) will be popular applications from 2008 onwards. Mr. HyoSoo Bae, Director at the Korea Telematics Business Association said "Unlike in the U.S. or in Europe, where telematics is widely used for safety purposes e.g. accident-avoidance and driver assistance, telematics in Asia is driven by navigation and content access applications." "Future telematics applications will be in more advanced areas, such as networked vehicle diagnostics, enabling people to identify mechanical faults and perform car diagnostics remotely, allowing for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and operating on software programmable in-vehicle units. This will lay the foundation for a huge new market in chargeable services, much like the evolution of the mobile phone." said Marine Mallinson, Director Fusion Consulting Hong Kong. "However, vendors should not underestimate the need for localization. Product localization, for example in user interface design, and content localization such as navigation mapping must account for local preferences and cultural subtleties." Mallinson cautioned. Notes: About Fusion Consulting For more information, please contact Fusion Consulting at
|
|||||||||