Connected Car Services
Car sharing service providers are forming strategic partnerships with ICT firms one after another. For example, Socar, the largest car sharing service provider in South Korea, has formed such partnerships with Kakao and SK Telecom. At present, the number of Socar customers is more than 2.1 million and the number of Socar zones in South Korea reached 2,650 or so on August 31. SK Telecom is planning to come up with personalized services optimized for connected cars by collecting big data regarding Socar users and combining it with its mobile navigation service Tmap.
Naver and Kakao are in partnership with Green Car, the second-largest car sharing service provider in the country, as well as Socar. Kakao drivers can use Socars and Green Cars when moving to reach their drunk customers or after setting them down at their houses. Naver and Green Car are working on a business agreement for connected car services. The purpose of the cooperation is to develop an in-vehicle infotainment platform so that customers can use Naver’s map, navigation, music, news and Web search services in Green Cars.
Google, in the meantime, is providing a carpooling service for commuters based on Waze, a navigation service provider it acquired in 2013. This is to procure data on hourly vehicle demands and the like in preparation for the advent of an era when self-driving cars are shared.
Toyota, Volkswagen and GM are increasing their investments in Uber, Gett, Lyft, etc. GM is also expanding its Maven service in major U.S. cities such as Washington D.C., Boston and Chicago. This service is to bring a car to a customer based on a smartphone app developed by GM itself.