Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
It’s Only Common Sense: Selling to Today's Generation of Buyers
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Believe in Better'
Mitsubishi Motors Enlists Israeli Startup as Japan Plays Catch up on Connected Cars
January 6, 2020 | ReutersEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Mitsubishi Motors Corp has signed on to Israeli startup Otonomo’s car-data marketplace as Japanese automakers race to make up ground on U.S. and European rivals to provide in-vehicle connected services.
The first Japanese auto manufacturer to join a platform like Otonomo’s, Mitsubishi Motors will get access to a network of some 100 retailers, insurers and others who will pay for the data and provide revenue-generating services such as parking apps, on-demand car washing and subscription-based refueling.
The initiative will roll out this year in the United States and Europe, with Japan following later, the companies said. They did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
The Japanese have lagged in providing connected-car services, with just 30 percent of vehicles sold last year equipped with embedded connectivity, compared with more than half in the United States and Europe, according to consultancy SBD Automotive.
It could be a costly missed opportunity. McKinsey & Co. predicts the market for in-vehicle data will swell to as much as $750 billion by 2030.
In addition, the Japanese brands risk losing touch with an increasingly connected consumer globally.
“It is about understanding customer behaviors: how they use their cars and how they maintain them,” Mo Al-Bodour, a Detroit-based analyst at SBD, said by email.
“This has implications that range from current customer relationships to how future products should be designed.”
Other Japanese manufacturers have so far focused on building their own platforms.
Toyota has a subscription-based service called T-Connect, which offers things like real-time traffic information and links to a human operator for help with restaurant booking or getting assistance in the event of an accident.
Honda has developed a similar offering called Honda Connected, but it has partnered with Alibaba in China to develop connected services specific to that market.
What Otonomo offers is a way to scrub and standardize the data coming out of the vehicles and ensure its use conforms to the privacy laws of each region.
The four-year-old, Tel Aviv-based startup also has partnerships with Daimler and BMW. It expects to announce more tie-ups with car makers later this year, co-founder and CEO Ben Volkow said by email.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Specially Developed for Laser Plastic Welding from LPKF
06/25/2025 | LPKFLPKF introduces TherMoPro, a thermographic analysis system specifically developed for laser plastic welding that transforms thermal data into concrete actionable insights. Through automated capture, evaluation, and interpretation of surface temperature patterns immediately after welding, the system provides unprecedented process transparency that correlates with product joining quality and long-term product stability.
Smart Automation: The Power of Data Integration in Electronics Manufacturing
06/24/2025 | Josh Casper -- Column: Smart AutomationAs EMS companies adopt automation, machine data collection and integration are among the biggest challenges. It’s now commonplace for equipment to collect and output vast amounts of data, sometimes more than a manufacturer knows what to do with. While many OEM equipment vendors offer full-line solutions, most EMS companies still take a vendor-agnostic approach, selecting the equipment companies that best serve their needs rather than a single-vendor solution.
Keysight, NTT, and NTT Innovative Devices Achieve 280 Gbps World Record Data Rate with Sub-Terahertz for 6G
06/17/2025 | Keysight TechnologiesKeysight Technologies, Inc. in collaboration with NTT Corporation and NTT Innovative Devices Corporation (NTT Innovative Devices), today announced a groundbreaking world record in data rate achieved using sub-THz frequencies.
Priority Software Announces the New, Game-Changing aiERP
06/12/2025 | Priority SoftwarePriority Software Ltd., a leading global provider of ERP and business management software announces its revolutionary aiERP, leveraging the power of AI to transform business operations.
Breaking Silos with Intelligence: Connectivity of Component-level Data Across the SMT Line
06/09/2025 | Dr. Eyal Weiss, CybordAs the complexity and demands of electronics manufacturing continue to rise, the smart factory is no longer a distant vision; it has become a necessity. While machine connectivity and line-level data integration have gained traction in recent years, one of the most overlooked opportunities lies in the component itself. Specifically, in the data captured just milliseconds before a component is placed onto the PCB, which often goes unexamined and is permanently lost once reflow begins.