“OnStar can also help if you’re looking for a particular shop in a different location. All you have to do is call them up again, they know your location and will send the details to your sat-nav when you hang up the call. Then all you need to do is start guidance.
“OnStar works in pretty much the same way for roadside assistance, you press the button and tell them you’ve had an incident, they can diagnose the fault by downloading fault codes via the ECU. They know where you are and then send the relevant roadside provider and pass you over to them. OnStar makes for a much easier, less stressful situation when this happens.
“OnStar can send a message to the vehicle and pull out data related to all the major systems. So, engine, transmission, brakes, all the different services, fuel level, tyre pressures and all that. For example if a warning light comes up on the dashboard, you can ring and ask if you have to worry about it.
“Also, with OnStar you get a monthly health check of your vehicle that’s emailed to you. The car tells you its condition. It’s a regular update and if there are any warnings you can address them.
“On top of this we have an Apple and Android mobile app, where you can lock and unlock the car, remotely operate the horn and lights, check your fuel level and even the tyre pressures. You can also look for your destination via the map and send details to the car, plus you can locate your vehicle online.
“The guys on the phone in the call centre in the UK are in training at the moment, ready for the upcoming launch. The guys based in Luton are bilingual or trilingual, so if you called up from Germany for example, you’d get through to the same UK call centre.
Finally, the system is a wi-fi hotspot, so basically you get 12-months free wi-fi on top of all the safety and security stuff
“We have already launched this system in China and know these people have the right skill sets to deliver the services. OnStar launches in October and is rolled out everywhere at the same time, it just depends on production dates.
“Finally, the system is a wi-fi hotspot, so basically you get 12-months free wi-fi on top of all the safety and security stuff. So it’s not just about the user/driver but everyone else in the car as well with all the internet access that you could ever want.
“If you’re a company car user, you or your company can activate the OnStar services that look after both the drivers and their families. OnStar is very high up in terms of corporate responsibility, it’s something above airbags and seatbelts, this is 24/7 inside and outside working hours.
“The other thing is when you get your monthly email, we have a portal as a fleet manager where you can go and look at all your vehicles. So you can see for each of your vehicles, the mileage reading each month, the live tyre pressures, you can also see if there are any warning lights or not – making it much easier to manage the vehicles. That’s the first step we can offer today, later on in the year we’re looking at providing more fleet telematics services where we can provide more data.
“Although focused on the individual, there are real benefits to fleet and available right from the new Viva through to the Insignia.
“For someone running four or five vehicles, they may not need anything else, they may say, the fact I get a report every 30 days of all the cars is good – thank you very much I’ll take that.”
