From the beginning of 2015 the European Union will require all new cars to be able to call emergency services in the event of an accident. Partly as a result of this new legislation, called eCall, a research company expects Europe to become the largest market for SIM technology in cars.
The European Commission will require all new cars to be equipped with embedded emergency applications. Starting in 2015, all manufacturers will have to implement the EU-wide regulations and install emergency service hardware and software in new cars at the time of their manufacture. In the event of a crash, a call goes out to a call centre, typically triggered by the inflation of an airbag. This call is usually accompanied by a data transmission with details of the vehicle’s location, reducing the time to treatment considerably for anyone injured in the accident.
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According to a new report from Pyramid Research, the new legislation will affect the telematics market: Europe is forecast to become the largest market for SIM technology in cars, overtaking the US in 2016 as the effects of the regulations build up. The company expects the total car technology revenue in Europe to grow from US$307m in 2012 to $1.8bn in 2018.
Initial eCall pilots have already been introduced in Poland, Italy and Sweden in 2009. Some car manufacturers, such as Volvo and Peugeot Citroën, are pioneering integrated eCall capabilities. Volvo’s OnCall application includes emergency calls as well as a manually activated ‘SOS’-button. Others, such as Fiat, have been involved in trials along with automobile associations and other partners. According to the report, the eCall initiative is broadly supported across much of Europe.
Countries outside the EU, such as Russia and Brazil, are also adopting the proposals by the European Commission.
