The Toyota Hub is to be announced at the Mondial de l’Automobile auto show, which starts in Paris this weekend.
The “Hub” is a PDA-centric service providing drivers with some integrated features in the 4 areas of multimedia, telephony, GPS navigation and a subscription-based service called the Toyota Club. The multimedia quadrant, for example, plays audio/video content via the car’s systems.
The Toyota Hub is a simplified version of the Toyota G-Book, which has been under development since mid-2002. The G-Book is Toyota’s answer to GM’s popular OnStar system, and provides services in the areas of Safety and Security, Navigation, Information, Entertainment, Communication including sending/receiving of email, E-commerce and Operator Assistance.
Automotive Telematics is a growth industry. In new vehicles, the telematics penetration rate today is about 15%. This is expected to grow to almost 50% by 2008. Some other brands are Honda InterNavi, Nissan Carwings and DaimlerChrysler UConnect.
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