Berg Insight says 3.5 million cars in Europe have a telematics device

14 Oct 2009

According to Berg Insights new research report, 3.5 million passenger cars in Europe will have an on-board telematics device at the end of 2009.

Due to the weaker demand on the automotive market, the year-on-year growth rate is projected to decrease from 35.9 percent in 2008 to 18.4 percent in 2009, even though the installed base has continued to grow. The market share for OEM systems remains small, while aftermarket telematics solutions like stolen vehicle tracking and insurance applications are still dominating.

Clearly affected by the difficult situation in the global automotive industry, the telematics market is cautiously predicted an optimistic future by Berg Insight. Across the world, extended availability of services and new regulations drive the demand for high volume, low cost telematics solutions. About the progress of the eCall project in Europe said senior analyst of Berg Insight, Tobias Ryberg, said: "Some vital technical standards are now in place and the EC has presented a new more realistic deadline for full-scale implementation by 2014The largest remaining obstacle is now resistance from France and the UK, which are the only major EU member states that have not expressed their support for the initiative. Once implemented the pan-European safety system is anticipated to generate shipments of about 15 million OEM telematics units annually.