DALLAS-FORT WORTH, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- ATX Group, the world's second
largest telematics service provider to the automotive industry, announced
today that it has completed development of a telematics service that enables
automobile dealerships to remotely pull mileage and other real-time data from
a telematics-equipped vehicle they have sold to a customer. This capability,
with the vehicle owner's permission, would allow dealerships to pro-actively
offer enhanced servicing and maintenance of the vehicle.
Dealerships would also be notified in the event the car experiences a dead
battery, an accident, flat tire or other incident entailing a problem with the
vehicle's operation.
These services are part of a broader ATX initiative, called vRM (an
acronym for Vehicle Relationship Management), which leverages telematics
technology embedded in the vehicle to enhance the business objectives of
automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships as well as deliver
better vehicle servicing to owners. An initial phase of the program, focusing
on engine performance data and error codes, was launched in the fall of 2003.
The new vRM services initially will provide dealerships with real-time
mileage updates anytime the vehicle owner interacts with the telematics
system. In the future, the dealership would be notified anytime the vehicle
reaches key mileage benchmarks for servicing or warranty periods. Data
messages will alert the dealerships via the manufacturer's existing dealership
intranet network or via a secured Website containing data about the customer
and vehicle performance.
"There is probably no other real-time data from a customer's vehicle that
is more critical to a dealership than mileage because it gives them an
accurate snapshot of exactly where each one of their customers are at in their
service interval and ownership cycle," said Ron West, ATX executive vice
president of sales and marketing. "The result is that the vehicle owner
receives more proactive service from their dealership and the dealership
benefits from data that enables them to better manage the relationship with
each customer, increasing their chances of a repeat buyer. We know today that
only one out of four people return to the dealership for service after the
warranty period. With services like this, we hope to increase that figure
significantly."
With the customer's permission, dealerships will also be notified of
roadside emergencies and breakdowns as well as when a vehicle has been stolen
from the owner. Such notifications will enable dealerships to quickly offer
customized assistance to customers.
ATX already provides a direct "hot button" voice link to an owner's
preferred dealership whenever the driver requires immediate vehicle service or
information. That will now be augmented with a data link.
"Telematics provides several channels for allowing dealers to get timely,
unfiltered customer comments so they can take proactive steps to prevent a
minor customer dissatisfaction from eventually mushrooming into simmering
dissatisfaction and the loss of a repeat customer," said West.
Besides the in-vehicle button for directly connecting to the owner's
preferred dealer and contacts generated via mileage-incident reports, other
channels of feedback from vehicle owners that ATX can provide include creative
uses of interactive or automated voice technology. For instance, ATX can
provide an automated survey via the IVR system sent directly into the vehicle,
polling for owner's opinions as they are using the product. ATX also has
developed an owner's manual that allows owners to simply press a button in the
vehicle and query for information on vehicle features or maintenance using
automated voice technology; each press of the button could become an
interesting data point to a dealer that could be the basis for proactive
service, information or sale of additional vehicle options.
ATX introduced the concept of vRM in January, 2002, in which data is
pulled from the telematics-equipped vehicle in real-time and then integrated
with personal information provided by vehicle owners. The aggregated data is
then used to enhance the existing service, customer relationship management
(CRM) and warranty programs of an automotive manufacturer and its affiliated
dealerships.
Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area and Dusseldorf, Germany, ATX
Group is the world's second largest provider of telematics services for the
automobile industry, serving both North America and Europe. ATX telematics
services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security and driving
convenience to vehicle owners. These services include location-specific
emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification, stolen
vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics and real-time traffic and navigation
assistance. ATX, the largest independent telematics provider not owned by an
automobile manufacturer or telecommunications firm, also provides telematics
services designed to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated
dealerships to use telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing,
and more closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to
vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW,
Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. ATX is an unregistered trademark of ATX
Group, Inc.
For more information, visit http://www.atxg.com .
SOURCE ATX
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Related links:
http://www.atxg.com
CONTACT:
Gary Wallace, vice president, corporate
relations of ATX Group, +1-800-511-5891 or +1-972-753-6230,
gwallace@atxg.com ; Carrie Cioffi of Eisbrenner Public Relations,
+1-248-641-1446, ccioffi@eisbrenner.com for ATX
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