Smart car business model and security issues

When love between cars and the Internet is getting more and more sweet, when it comes to discussing marriage, it may seem trivial but it may threaten the success or failure of future marriages and should be given more attention. Bear the brunt of the business model issues and car safety issues. Of course, when the conditions are basically mature, you can't stop eating because of the small things.

Smart cars will undoubtedly become new intruders at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

A cool new concept car with streamlined appearance, touch screen, autopilot system, and navigation data sharing has attracted people's attention, and mobile phones and other electronic products seem to be overshadowed.

All major car manufacturers came to CES with their cool smart car products. Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche releases auto-pilot "F 015 Luxury in Motion"; Volkswagen publishes the Golf R Touch concept car and displays new in-vehicle information technology; Audi's driverless car also starts from Silicon Valley. After 560 miles, she drove to CES without human intervention.

This year's new cars all have the same concept: the Internet. Mercedes-Benz new car is equipped with a large touch screen, people can use it to navigate or watch the situation outside the car, the car is also embedded on both sides of the distance sensor control system connected to the touch screen; Golf R Touch information system can be seamlessly connected with the smart phone; BMW will The display is a "remote valet parking assistance system"; even non-automotive manufacturers such as Bosch have released a series of new technologies and products such as active safety, on-board systems, and HUD.

IHS Automotive, the international automotive market research company, predicts that the number of cars connected to the Internet in the global market in 2020 will increase by more than six times from the current 23 million to more than 152 million. Analysts decided that China's car network will usher in an explosive growth period of 100 billion. Not only traditional car makers and internet companies have resorted to big tricks, even the stockowner Buffett has indicated that he wants to invest in an on-board real-time service tailored for the driver.

Mobile Connected Smart Cars: Business Models and Security Issues

Internet invades the last piece of terminal

As the last terminal equipment without networking, the automobile has been infiltrated by the Internet has become an indisputable fact.

With the “community with the Internet” after the 1980s becoming the mainstream consumer group of automotive products, the functional appeal of the car is also undergoing subtle changes. Driven by the market, the car is moving from a hardware to a soft and hard service. This trend is evident in the in-vehicle infotainment systems introduced by various manufacturers.

BMW's iDrive system features navigation, applications, hands-free calling and stereo sound. The new iDrive will introduce touch screens and cameras to recognize the driver’s gestures. Hyundai has also released a technology that can unlock and even launch modern Genesis cars with Android Wear smart watches. The US car company Chrysler brought the latest version of its UConnect car entertainment information system. The information shows that the system interface is simple and clear, the information list is in order, and the touch screen is correspondingly rapid. It can also create in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspots and in-vehicle interiors. Install a variety of application software.

The Internet car is neither a simple vehicle application informationization nor a simple migration of Internet products to a vehicle-mounted platform, but an integration of the two at all levels. It should be noted that the greatest intelligence is not the development of a cool driverless car, but rather the use of automotive hardware as a carrier to integrate services, making it a platform that users can't live without.

LG Electronics CTO Scott Ahn stated at CES that the company is working hard to develop ways to seamlessly integrate mobile phones, tablets, wearables and cars. He said, “The demand for smart devices and automotive networking will increase. LG has developed a solution that can not only connect Android and iOS but also be highly customizable.”

Mobile Internet cut into the entrance

The wave of mobile Internet has brought smart phones and cars closer together. Domestically, SAIC and Alibaba announced that they will jointly build an Internet car, followed by Ali's development of the app "intelligent driving" and hardware "intelligence drive box"; Tencent is investing in NavInfo, the two sides will jointly create a new generation of smart maps and navigation services; Baidu It also announced that it is fully developing the autopilot technology. Next, it will integrate its music, navigation, image recognition, road data and voice recognition. It will be provided to car companies and vehicle equipment manufacturers, and will complete the mobile interconnection of “people, vehicles, and mobile phones”.

Through the mobile app, the mobile Internet has successfully "invaded" the car and used smart hardware to control the car anytime, anywhere to understand the relevant conditions of the car. Google announced and released the Android AutoAPI for automotive software at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which means that developers can develop apps for Android Auto, the Android operating system.

Surveys show that more and more American consumers tend to buy cars with "luxury" features that are less expensive. The car app is a relatively cheap way to improve the car's grade.

However, automotive apps still have a lot of room for improvement. Brendon Kraham, manager of Google Global Mobility Solutions, said that the current automotive app experience is "disconnected." "If I search Google Maps on the desktop, I have to do it again in the car."

Business model, security issues have not been resolved

Although it is not difficult to see from the current CES that the traditional car manufacturers also have a green light on the Internet, General Motors chief information officer Phil Abram said that GM will continue to maintain a variety of car networking services The open attitude includes opening up to smartphone makers such as Apple and Google. However, the opening of car saloons may not be willing. The transformation of the Internet to the traditional industries in the capital market in recent years is indeed a weapon to enhance valuations, but the pattern of traditional car companies has changed. How to compete with Internet companies and continue to enjoy high interest rates in the manufacturing industry instead of accepting the "free thinking" of the Internet as a foundry company may be a problem they are thinking about.

There are basically three modes of profit-making in the Internet of Vehicles:

First, car companies preferred equipment and service payment model, users purchase on-board equipment and renew annually;

Second, advertising marketing value-added and free conversion model, wool out of the pig body, although the high cost of the car, can not be completely free of charge like other products, but the vehicle-mounted equipment can be provided to the user free of charge, to attract traffic, to attract third parties in the car Advertise on the device and charge for vertical areas such as logistics, insurance, and automotive services.

Third, the commercialization of mining and classification based on vehicle data is also emerging.

Verizon Telematics focuses on providing value-added services to automakers. Its senior vice president, Kevin Link, said: "The value of these services is 50 times the value of transportation. The business model needed for Internet vehicles needs to evolve. When security services are needed, users should not pay for wireless data. If the driver has a car accident, their car should be able to send out an emergency help service regardless of whether the driver pays for the car's wireless connection."

NavInfo’s new director secret Guo Minqing also said that the company’s revenue from the growth of the vehicle networking business has mainly benefited from the increase in the penetration rate of the pre-installed market. However, there is still no mature business model for how to use Tencent's platform and Internet resources.

The Internet auto business model is still inconclusive. For users, their concern is mainly focused on the vehicle's information security system. Taking the on-board OBD diagnostic interface located below the instrument as an example, it can receive Wi-Fi signals to remotely diagnose and remotely unlock the vehicle. There are many ways to launch malicious attacks from the cloud to the on-board system. For cars, being invaded by malicious software is not just a matter of reinstalling the system. A failure of any part can trigger a sudden traffic accident. This makes connected cars have to spend a lot of cost on information security.

In addition, the speed of auto parts updates is much lower than the internet element. The inconsistency of the upgrade pace may lead to the incompatibility of the in-vehicle network system and the automotive components. Of course, how to determine the powers and responsibilities of an unmanned car after an accident, and whether the traffic control department will monitor and control the on-board terminal equipment needs to be resolved.