BMW Top Best Connected Car, #2 GM, #3 Ford & More

BMWiconnectedriveMachina Research in a survey for Vodaphone ranked car maker for sophistication in their connected car experiences.

BMW’s ConnectedDrive was top ranked as the best, followed by GM’s OnStar in second place and third place went to Ford for its embedded offering, followed by Audi and Chrysler.Ranking was based on services available, openness to developers and purpose of the connectivity.

Machina noted that “getting the connected car strategy right will be critical to future success.”

The full ranking is:

  1. BMW
  2. GM
  3. Ford
  4. Audi
  5. Chrysler
  6. Mercedes-Benz
  7. Tesla
  8. Toyota
  9. VW
  10. Honda

Vodaphone reported that the future of the connected car may include diagnostics as well as checking home appliances.

Criteria for ranking included.

  • Percentage of global vehicle car sales with embedded connectivity.
  • Percentage of global vehicle car sales with embedded LTE connectivity.
  • Purpose of embedded connectivity (e.g. is it solely for eCall or to provide extended and/or enhanced connectivity for a suite of services).
  • Range of services available through the vehicle platform.
  • ‘Openness’ of the vehicle platform in terms of application development and management.
  • Levels of integration between the vehicle platform and e.g. mobile applications, other devices, web portal management, and data management.
  • Availability of in-car Wi-Fi hotspots.
  • Level of innovation enabled and pursued through connectivity for such areas as driving and ownership.
  • Membership of organizations such as the Connected Car Consortium, GENIVI & OAA.