This interview is also available in Chinese - click here to read the Chinese version.

Based on the complete success last year, Telematics@China Tour will be further expanded and deeper penetrated this year. Beginning with Shanghai event on April 20, Telematics@China Tour (www.telematics-tour.com) this year will hold 9 serial events in 8 Chinese cities, covering all the hot topics of industry concern. As one of the co-organizers of the event, NAVIBIZ will interview some select industry experts to share their insights on the Telematics industry. The Telematics@China Organizing Committee has confirmed that Mr. David McClure from SBD will join the Chongqing event on June 10 as the Top Knowledge Partner. He will make a speech about young car owners in China. 

Can you explain to our readers why SBD is so committed to supporting the 2011 Telematics@China Tour?

It has been our pleasure to work with the Telematics@China team since the early days of the Shanghai NaviForum back in 2006.  That was really the start of SBD's focus on China and we have been expanding our knowledge and understanding ever since. The Telematics@China Tour gives us the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with key players in the industry in an informal and relaxed environment, and we have found it to be a great way of strengthening our ties with friends, partners and customers in China.

That's great to hear. Can you give us some insight into the theme of your presentation at this week's event in Chongqing?

Certainly. For this event we want to share with the attendees an exclusive preview of the results of an end user survey that we have recently conducted to explore the needs, interest and willingness to pay for telematics services amongst China's growing number of young car owners.

We decided to focus on this market segment since the average age of new car buyers in China is significantly lower than that in Europe or the US, and there is already a high penetration of smartphones within the same customer group. The aim of the research was therefore to understand their areas of interest in more detail, and to confirm if their needs are being met with the 'heavy' telematics solutions that currently dominate the telematics market in China, or if there is an opportunity for 'lighter' solutions such as SGM's recently launched eMotion service that uses the driver's mobile phone as a modem.

That's very interesting, and I look forward to seeing the detailed results of the survey in Chongqing.  Are you able to give our readers a sneak preview in advance?

Yes, no problem. The good news for the telematics industry is that these young drivers have some definite needs that can be met by a range of carefully selected and designed telematics services. 

For a start, the young car owners complained about being stuck in heavy congestion everyday and looked forward to a time when real time traffic services could help them to select the best route for their daily commute to and from their place of work. They also highlighted music as a key feature that will help to keep them entertained during the long and tedious journeys on the over-congested roads.

Surprisingly, however, the young drivers also prioritised safety and security features, especially those that can provide guaranteed help after an accident or the theft of their car. Previous studies have suggested that these services may be of more interest to China's older car owners, but our survey suggests that such services have a strong appeal across the age range.

And were you able to come to any conclusions about what vehicle manufacturers should be doing to target this particular market segment?

Well, I'll save the detail for the attendees in Chongqing, but the key conclusion is that vehicle manufacturers are going to have to take a more subtle approach going forward. Many of the domestic OEMs in China have rushed to launch in-car systems that replicate the functionality and features of smartphones in a high end and high cost system. We are not convinced that this is a sustainable approach, and there is a risk that China is simply replicating the hype and bubble that afflicted telematics in Europe 10 years ago.

Our recommendation is that OEMs look carefully at the interests and willingness to pay for young car owners and the other market segments. Based on this, they should consider a mixed approach that includes a fully embedded solution for safety, security and vehicle-centric services whilst integrating the driver's smartphone into the car to support entertainment, information and communication-based services. The biggest challenge is perhaps deciding what to do with navigation. There is no doubt that it should be connected, but should the functionality lie in the car or on the smartphone?

Thank you David for whetting our appetite.  We look forward to hearing more in Chongqing.

You're welcome! 

Source : NAVIBIZ