‘Computing power’ new selling point as connected cars get popular

If you own the new Honda City, you can speak into an Amazon Alexa device at home (wirelessly connected with the car) and ask it to switch on the car’s AC. In Hyundai Alcazar, you can ‘speak’ to the car and ask it to open the sunroof. The upcoming Mahindra XUV700 will allow the user sitting inside the vehicle to operate gadgets at home, and the upcoming MG Astor will allow the driver to reserve a parking slot inside a mall.

The modern car is a computer on wheels—with an embedded SIM, and capable of over-the-air software updates. There are about 6 lakh such cars on Indian roads. Hyundai’s tech is called the Blue Link, offered in seven models—i20, Venue, Verna, Creta, Alcazar, Elantra, and Tuc- son. The carmaker has sold over 1,66,000 Blue Link cars since the Venue (touted to be India’s first connected car) was launched on May 21, 2019. “Over 34% sales of these seven models are formed by connected variants,” SS Kim, M D & CEO, Hyundai Motor India, told FE.