The opening conference of Autopromotec, the biannual Aftermarket tradeshow underway in Bologna until 26th May, was held yesterday. During the course of their speeches, Eugenio Razelli, CEO of Magneti Marelli and Dino Maggioni, President of Parts & Services of Fiat Industrial, outlined the evolutionary scenarios of the automobile and industrial vehicle aftermarket, which are tied to telematics and advanced connectivity technologies.
The near future will bring a change in paradigm for the aftermarket: the switch from selling products to selling services, from the standpoint of both automobiles and industrial vehicles. The enabling factor of this change is telematics, a sector with an economic business potential of Euro 40 billion by 2016 at the global level, mainly referred to hardware, consumer devices and services. (Source: AT KEARNEY)
Through devices that range from common smartphones and smart devices to telematic boxes or “black boxes” (e.g.: black boxes for insurance purposes) and EOBD (European On Board Diagnostic) systems – in other words devices that can read the vital parameters and data of a vehicle from the onboard network and then transmit them at a distance – telematics can enable a new range of services such as e-call, eco-driving and advanced navigation, intelligent mobility management (information with added value on traffic and routes), insurance services, fleet management and, with regards to the after-sales segment, remote and predictive diagnostics.
The workshop of the future will thus receive information directly from the vehicle, so that it can schedule in advance the necessary jobs as well as procure in advance the products or spare parts it needs. Moreover, it will be able to offer its customers a predictive diagnostics service by analyzing the vital parameters of the vehicle – as it is done, for example, with telemetry in F1 – consequently with the aim of preventing breakdowns.
The workshop of the future will thus be a provider of services, a facility where, in a single place and at a set time, the main needs of both vehicle and driver will be simultaneously met.
Magneti Marelli and Fiat Industrial are bound by a technological partnership for the development of telematic solutions aimed at safety, reduced fuel consumption and emissions, and comfort. In particular, the new Stralis Iveco features Iveconnect, the exclusive system that incorporates in a single device the following services: infotainment, navigation, assistance during driving and t-box for the delivery of fleet management services.
Dino Maggioni, President of Parts & Services of Fiat Industrial, commented as follows: “Thanks to technology and onboard telematics, all information is collected in real time and can be accessed, in a user-friendly way, by the onboard operator, by the fleet operator and by the provider of value-added services. In this way, a series of factors can be monitored, such as vehicle use and maintenance, management of drivers and of their driving style in detail, the entire planning of work flows and of individual activities”.
“Today, telematics and advanced technologies for connection to the communication networks – stated Eugenio Razelli, CEO of Magneti Marelli – provide us with the “augmented freedom” to be connected while moving, and thus give us the possibility to access a new world of services with added value that will alter the concept itself of automobile and assistance. The market context and the evolution of mobility hence lead to a change in paradigm also for the after-sales segment which, thanks to devices such as the telematic boxes, will create a workshop of the future based on remote and predictive diagnostics, added-value services, advanced assistance and problem-solving for the motorist.”
