Hyundai-Kia to launch connected car services in Europe with Vodafone

Published : Nov 13, 2018 - 16:08 Updated : Nov 13, 2018 - 16:08

New Hyundai and Kia vehicles set to be released in Europe next year will feature high-tech connected car services enabled by the region’s biggest mobile carrier Vodafone, said South Korea’s No. 1 automobile group on Tuesday.

Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Vodafone have set the goal of improving driving experiences for European customers by connecting vehicles using the internet of things technology, under a memorandum of understanding signed Monday.

From left: Nick Tunnel, executive director at Hyundai Motor’s UK branch, Paul Philpott, president of Kia Motors’ UK branch, Kim Ji-yun, vice president of the ICT division at Hyundai Motor Group, Yen Yen Tan, president of Vodafone Enterprise, and other officials pose after signing a memorandum of understanding on Monday. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Kia Motors will provide its connected car service UVO for all new vehicles set to be released in the European market next year, while Hyundai Motor will launch Blue Link for its new cars.

Kia’s UVO and Hyundai’s Blue Link both offer real-time traffic-based navigation, locations of parking lots, anti-theft alarms, voice recognition and a vehicle locator based on Vodafone’s network.

In collaboration with US voice recognition technology firm Nuance, the companies will provide eight languages including English, French and German.

The first target markets include Britain, Germany, France and Spain, and the services will be expanded to a total of 32 countries.

Currently, the connected car services are available in Korea, the US, Canada and China.

“By tapping into the biggest telecom network in Europe, we will be able to provide high-tech services for European customers,” said Suh Jung-sik, senior vice president of ICT division at the group.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)