Connected Cars to Create $53 Billion Market in 5 Years

Posted: June 14, 2013 at 2:04 am

Equipping cars with the ability to communicate with each other and their surroundings will create a €40 billion ($53 billion) global market by 2018, predicts the GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Assn.), a global trade group for mobile communications providers.

By 2025 most new cars will carry embedded mobile technology—General Motors Co.’s OnStar is an example—that gives them some form of connectivity, according to the London-based group.

These built-in systems, which don’t require a driver’s cell phone, can deliver a huge array of services involving safety, security, infotainment, traffic reports, navigation and vehicle diagnostics. Researchers elsewhere have estimated that vehicle-to-vehicle systems could eventually help cut traffic fatalities by a factor of 10.

The GMSA forecasts that in five years the connected car boom will triple today’s market for related products, generating annual sales of €24.5 billion ($32.7 billion) for services, €6.9 billion ($9.2 billion) for telematics hardware, €4.5 billion ($6 billion) for system support and €4.1 billion ($5.5 billion) for data charges.