Springworks AB has announced that its cloud-based Connected Car platform SPARK, for mobile operators and service providers in the automotive industry, has gone live with Nordic and Baltics mobile network operator, Telia Company. The platform allows Telia Company and its automotive Service Provider partners to launch a host of new subscription-based connected car services for drivers in Sweden. Car services will include amongst others: 4G, in-car Wi-Fi, service warning alerts, parking information and warnings, tyre change notifications, eco driving features, insurance services, tampering alarm and dashboard data.

Springworks is currently focusing on the large European car market of 258 million cars. By 2020, the Springworks’ SPARK platform will have enabled mobile operators to monetise a large portion of the untapped international connected car ecosystem. New legislative requirements on automatic emergency reporting are driving this market. From April 1, 2018, all new passenger cars in Europe will need to be fitted with a modem that can send a crash alert to emergency services.

The white label service will go beyond basic connectivity, allowing mobile operators to lead the connected car ecosystem of insurance companies, parking services, fleet management companies and car repair businesses. This enables operators to deliver a range of smart services to owners of new and old cars, using a plug in On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) dongle and app or API. The end-user plugs this telematics unit into the car’s standard OBD socket, which then connects the car through the operator network to aggregated services via the cloud.

“Operators understand the opportunity of connecting cars from several perspectives, mainly Usage Base Insurance, Wi-Fi, fleet management and providing car makers with connectivity,” commented Erik Ramberg, CEO of Springworks. “As a white label solution, it enables operators to master the national connected car ecosystem as well as implement and monetise new digital strategies with service providers by selling them smart data.”

“Connecting cars makes perfect sense from a business perspective with stakeholders ranging from insurance companies, car repair shops, fleet managers to roadside assistance companies,” commented Hans Dahlberg, Vice President, Division X (IOT) from Telia Company. “Insurance companies in certain regions have already shown that telematics systems can reduce claims expenditure by up to 30% whilst repair shops can save time for both themselves and their customers by doing a remote diagnosis before the car arrives. By adding SPARK to our connected car capabilities, Telia has a very attractive and unique platform to build offerings for both our service partners and millions of customers and thereby improve car ownership.”

Springworks offers its connected car solution as a white label Software-as-a-Service platform to mobile operators charging an activation fee and monthly fee per active user. The enterprise grade platform includes APIs for onboarding and integrating multiple service providers.