Maruti Suzuki India has launched ‘Suzuki Connect’, a new vehicle telematics solution to offer a connected-car experience to its customers.

The Telematics Control Unit (TCU)-based system will be connected to the CANBUS of the vehicle and be able to retrieve real-time vehicle data, and prompt alerts such as overspeeding, airbag deployment and seat-belt reminder alerts.

With a SIM card integrated into the hardware, Suzuki Connect will also allow live vehicle tracking, geofencing and transmit an alert to the company's centralised call centre, as well as five customer contacts, in case an airbag deployment is detected in the car.

The company has, over the course of 18 months, developed the technology in-house in collaboration with engineers from Suzuki Japan and is getting the devices manufactured locally. While the data analytics will occur at the company's back-end servers, customers will need to log-in to the ‘My Nexa’ mobile application to access all the features on offer.

According to RS Kalsi, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India, “Globally, vehicle connectivity has the potential to grow at an 18 percent CAGR until 2022, and even though the Indian telematics market is quite nascent at this moment, around 2.6 percent of the Indian car parc will be connected by 2020.”

The company conducted an extensive research in the market, surveying customer between the 25 to 45-year age group category, and has come out with family’s security, safety and vehicle performance to be top customer interest points.

“At Maruti Suzuki, we believe that customer experience is extremely important and with Suzuki Connect, we intend to deliver just that. Based on our research, we have designed the Suzuki Connect platform around three pillars – safety, security, and performance,” added CV Raman, senior executive director, Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India.

The telematics solution will also allow geo-fencing, tow-away alerts, driving behaviour monitoring, emergency as well as preventive functional alerts like high engine temperature.

Suzuki Connect will initially be offered as an optional accessory for Maruti’s Nexa range of cars, which include the Ignis, Baleno, Ciaz and the S-Cross. The company aims to expand it across all its model range by the year end.

Maruti Suzuki is offering Suzuki Connect at a price of Rs 9,999, which will include a three-year data subscription from Vodafone.