Hyundai to offer connected cars in Europe

Kim Ji-yun, vice president of the ICT technical division at Hyundai Motor, left, shakes hand with Yen Yen Tan, president of Vodafone Global Enterprise, on Tuesday in London. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor is introducing its connected-car system in Europe in partnership with Vodafone next year.

The carmaker and affiliate Kia Motors signed a memorandum of understanding with Vodafone at the company’s British headquarters on Monday to roll out the service, Hyundai Motor said.

Its Blue Link connected-car platform will be available in cars launching in Europe in the latter half of next year. The system will utilize Vodafone’s network. Kia’s Uvo connected-car system will be available in new cars sold in Europe in the first half of 2019.

The connected-car service will offer real-time traffic information as well as information about nearby parking lots. It will also enable the remote detection of the car’s location as well as anti-theft features.

Voice-recognition will be available in partnership with Nuance, a U.S. company. In Korea, that service is available in partnership with Kakao.

Vodafone is one of the leading telecom companies in Europe, with 120 million users on the continent. It is established in 51 countries globally.

The Blue Link service offered in collaboration with Vodafone will be available in eight European countries, including Britain, Germany, France and Spain. Ultimately, it will be available in 32 European countries.

Europe is the fifth region where Hyundai Motor has introduced its connected-car service. It is already available in Korea, the United States, Canada and China.

In July, Hyundai Motor partnered with Chinese IT firm Baidu for the introduction of connected-car services. In the United States, it is working with AT&T, and in Canada it utilizes the Bell network.

“The latest collaboration will enable European customers to use the high-tech service,” said Suh Jung-sik, senior vice president of Hyundai Motor’s ICT department in a written statement. “The connected-car service will launch from early next year and be expanded in the future.”

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]