How Vodafone is on a mission to keep cars connected

In an increasingly online world, it’s not just our phones that keep us connected. On the road, our cars do too. In fact, in-car tech and vehicles comms are as important to our daily drives as the engines and motors that power us along.

COOL, CALM AND CONNECTED

For more than 45 years, Vodafone has been keeping cars connected to the world around them, from vehicle trackers and telematics to the very latest in-car communication tech. And not just road cars either – Vodafone is proud to be the official communications partner of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team, at the cutting edge of motorsport’s sustainable new era.

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship, now in its seventh season, is the world’s first fully electric single seater racing series, featuring battery-powered machines such as Porsche’s 99X Electric, maxing out at over 200 km/h on street circuits across four continents. Of course, racing all over the world requires reliable, crystal-clear connectivity.

That’s where Vodafone’s IoT Global SIM comes in. It ensures the team and drivers can connect to the strongest signal in more than 100 countries and means there’s no need for different SIMs for different countries. This saves precious materials, while also keeping the team connected wherever they are in the world, both at the track and in-between races.

Formula E also enables Porsche and Vodafone to test and develop road-relevant tech and sustainable travel solutions, helping to refine the design of everyday electric vehicles and upgrade the digital driving experience for millions of drivers.

GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED

This July, Vodafone will be showcasing its partnership with Porsche Motorsport at the world-famous Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard. If you’re going along, visit the Vodafone stand to get up close and personal with a real Formula E car, have your photo taken with the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team drivers and put yourself in the driving seat of the Porsche 99x Electric vehicle with a world first, multiplayer motor racing game on Web AR. If you’re unable to attend the festival you can also get involved at home via http://takethewheel.vodafone.co.uk/ and test your skills against your friends now.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

While Formula E is helping to shape the future, Vodafone’s history of connected car tech goes way back in time. From early car alarm systems in the mid-1970s to today’s electric cars, Vodafone has been at the forefront of connected car technology for almost half a century.

Today, more than 31 million vehicles are connected by Vodafone. And as more and more electric cars arrive, Vodafone’s world-class connected car services will be even more vital – helping EVs and other cars talk to each other and the world around them.

Live traffic reports, navigation and charging station location and status updates are all essential tools for a smooth, effortless journey, especially in an EV. Vodafone’s technology plays a vital role when it comes to safety too, enabling SOS calls in the event of an accident, along with telematics, tracking and location services.

A HIGH-TECH HELPING HAND

Vodafone works with 35 vehicle manufacturers around the world, including a partnership with Volkswagen Group, helping to drive innovation and kickstart technical innovations. Parking aids, speed limiters and cruise control systems – Vodafone has played a part in the development of all of them.

It has also helped to recover and reunite countless stolen cars with their owners, thanks to innovative geolocation, tracking and recovery services. In fact, on average, Vodafone’s tech handles more than 5,000 vehicle alerts per day via an integrated network of remote monitoring platforms in the UK and worldwide.

The heartbeat of the operation is the Vodafone Automotive Centre of Excellence in Varese, Italy. This is where the design, development, testing and manufacturing of telematics devices and electronic systems takes place all under one roof.

The centre is home to 900 automotive experts who investigate future road scenarios and actively test vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-everything technologies – analysing more than 50 billion kilometres of driving data in their tireless, ongoing research.

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