Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., a part of the US $15.9 billion Mahindra Group, and Vodafone Business Services (VBS), the enterprise arm of Vodafone India Ltd, have announced a strategic technology partnership. This partnership will enable Vodafone to provide Machine-to-Machine (m2m) communication services to power the recently launched electric vehicle, Mahindra e2o.
Using their smart phones or any internet connected computer, e2o owners can access the following services:
· Know the state of charge in the battery of their car and how far they can travel with the available charge
· Remotely control its air-conditioning and set schedules to pre-heat or pre-cool the car before they use it
· Lock or unlock the car doors
· Find the nearest charging stations
· Receive alerts on various events with the car such as a disruption in charging due to power cuts, safety related reminders such as a door being left unlocked or a parking brake not applied.
· Get an emergency boost charge with a command on the smart phone to go an extra 8-10 kms
· Have the Mahindra Reva Tech Help Desk remotely do prognosis and diagnostics of the car
The e2o uses Vodafone’s m2m services for this connectivity.
Commenting on this, Naveen Chopra –Director, Vodafone Business Services said, “Vodafone is renowned globally for being a specialist in M2M solutions and a market leader in telematics. Leveraging our global expertise, we are the first telecom service provider to offer the m2m service platform in the Indian market today. Vodafone’s partnership with Mahindra Reva is a true convergence of distinct, yet aligned visions- to develop a world of connected machines. Our secure telematics connectivity offering, best in class m2m service platform and a superior network which has been tailor-made to suit unique aspects of Mahindra Reva’s product and industry processes”.
Speaking on the association, Chetan Maini, Chief of Strategy & Technology, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. said, “The e2o is the first and only Indian car, and among the few worldwide, to have telematics based features that enable ‘anytime, anywhere connectivity’ between our customers and their cars. The high performance telematics solution developed by Mahindra Reva for the e2o offers one of the richest set of telematics enabled features offered on any car in the world today. We are pleased to partner with Vodafone as our exclusive Machine-to-Machine mobile connectivity solution provider. Going forward, connected car technologies will make a difference to convenience and safety, thereby making a positive impact on the way people commute and interact with their cars. We are sure that our association with Vodafone will provide an even greater value proposition to our customers and enable new innovations in this exciting space in the future”.