Thursday, May 17, 2012

PSA Peugeot Citroën leader of e-Call in Europe

French OEM has sold over 1 million cars equiped with an e-Call system, under the brands Citroën (e-Touch) and Peugeot (Peugeot Connect). Since 2003, 5000 persons have been rescued in 10 countries in Europe.

In case of accident, a SMS is sent (either by the driver by pressing the SOS button, ou automatically when the airbag is activated), with the vehicle location and its ID to a dedicated platform*. Then, an operator can call the driver in his native language to ask him questions about the situation. If there is no response, the platform will then warn the rescue services with all the relevant data. The PSA system can save precious minutes, and then lives.

A location based assistance service is also available, in case of breakdown.

In 2010, PSA introduced a new on board device. This box separates e-Call services from other telematics functions, such as hands free communications.

Anticipating 2015 european e-Call, the PSA system is a no fee subscription, available for the whole vehicle lifecycle. The french OEM has received a Euro NCAP Advanced award for this innovation.

*IMA, which is a structure owned by insurance companies