Mahindra First Choice Wheels, the multi-brand used car company, has launched Konnect First—a connected-car device that, the company claims, can “upgrade your car into a smart car.” Priced at Rs 7,999, the device has been developed by Wipro. It’s not the first time that such a device has been introduced in the Indian market. Two years ago, Honda Cars India had launched Honda Connect—a connected device (dongle) that was developed by Minda i-Connect. It is compatible with any Honda car that has the OBD-II port—on-board diagnostics, version 2. Once installed, users can share their location in real-time, locate their car if someone else is driving it, monitor the health of the engine and get reminders if car service is due. All this appears on a smartphone app one has install. Honda Connect is also priced Rs 7,999. Then there is DriveMate by the maps company MapmyIndia. This device can be plugged into the OBD port of almost all new cars. The company claims there is no wire cutting required to install the device. It’s priced Rs 9,990.
Toyota and Nissan don’t offer a device, but an app on your smartphone, which works more or less like the devices offered by Honda and MapmyIndia, providing users navigation services, personalised search support, 3D maps with live traffic updates, vehicle maintenance data, roadside assistance, among other features. Konnect First, Mahindra First Choice says, is different because it’s compatible with 200-plus car variants across brands, and enables users to interact with the vehicle via a mobile app, available on both iOS and Android platforms.
“It offers car owners a comprehensive package of safety, loss prevention, utility, maintenance and driving analytics in one seamless interface. The sleek device is compatible with 200-plus car variants across brands and can be easily plugged into most cars’ OBD ports,” the company said in a statement. “The auto industry is at the cusp of a revolution with new technologies changing the way we drive. We see no reason why pre-owned car owners should not have access to these,” said Nagendra Palle, MD & CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels. Wipro’s SaaS-based platform AutoInsights powers Konnect First.
[“Source-financialexpress”]
