LONDON -- New data from ABI Research indicates that OEM and aftermarket consumer telematics systems will continue to gain momentum in both developed and developing regions due to growing popular awareness of their many benefits related to safety, security, maintenance, convenience, infotainment and cost savings. These benefits will drive growth from 37 million telematics users in 2010 to more than 211 million in 2015, the research firm says.

ABI Research’s “Automotive Telematics” study examines consumer telematics hardware form factors, features, trends, drivers and barriers. It describes the telematics ecosystem and value chain and provides strategic recommendations. The study contains forecasts by region for shipments and revenues of embedded and hybrid OEM, aftermarket, portable and converged systems and services.

“Telematics drivers are diverse, ranging from regulation in Europe (eCall) and legislation in Brazil (SVT) to cheaper telematics connectivity, hardware, software and services," said ABI Research Practice Director Dominique Bonte. "However, barriers remain: privacy concerns have slowed down the legislation process in Brazil, and industry fragmentation and confusion about business models and service architectures continue to haunt the automotive ecosystem.”

While the number of telematics subscribers will see strong growth in the coming years, direct revenue growth will be slower due to an increasingly large number of free non-embedded, hybrid and phone-based solutions such as Ford SYNC, ABI says.

Many automotive OEMs such as General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and BMW are eager to embrace the smartphone as a connected vehicle remote control for door unlock and engine start, remote diagnostics such as electrical vehicle battery status, or for eCall and bCall services.

According to ABI Research, solutions such as Continental’s Android-based AutoLinQ take this approach one step further by turning embedded systems into open platforms accessible to third party software developers hoping to break the automotive paradigms of long development cycles, high costs and lagging innovation.