The B2B platform for full-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: Industry News

The introduction of telematics that makes the user aware of the charging environment will help overcome one of the main barriers to the wide adoption of electric vehicles: range anxiety. Moreover, it will provide carmakers with a powerful revenue tool.

Accordingly, by 2015 more than 80% of EVs sold at a global level will have standard telematics features, predicts a new study conducted by Frost & Sullivan titled ‘Strategic Market and Technology Assessment of Telematics Applications for Electric Vehicles’.

The most important telematics service will be providing charging environment-related charging point(s) of interest (POIs). A POI service package will include:

• the estimated distance covered on existing charge
• availability and booking of charging station
• location of charging station and
• state of charge

The package is likely to be combined with a navigation package by most of the traditional OEMs, with the Intelligent navigation hardware standard packaged into the vehicle cost.

Pricing model for telematics

According to Frost & Sullivan, subscription packages for battery and energy will also include telematics features.

The hardware component (navigation head unit) of the telematics package will be bundled into the cost of the vehicle. The pricing of the service subscription component of the package on the other hand will be included and vary with different levels of lease plans that consumers will opt for their charging and energy needs.

Telematics as a revenue tool for carmakers

Telematics for EVs will be a powerful revenue tool for carmakers, concludes the study. For example, carmakers can allow utility companies to use their telematics package for a monthly transactional fee in return for services related to load management.