ATX Expands Telematics Coverage Into France
France Now Included with Germany, Italy and the U.K. in ATX Service Area
DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 18 -- ATX Group, the world's second largest telematics service provider to the automobile industry, today announced the capability to deliver telematics services to vehicle owners traveling throughout France.
This marks the fourth Western European country in which ATX provides telematics coverage.
"Extending our mapping databases to cover France and adding French- speaking response specialists in our response center continue our objective to expand the delivery of telematics services to vehicle owners throughout Western Europe over the course of the next several years," said Steve Millstein, ATX President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to see a need in the market for a pan-European telematics platform that delivers greater safety, security, and convenience to European drivers as well as providing a catalyst for new ways to conduct business more efficiently for the automotive industry. ATX remains committed to becoming the first pan-European telematics service provider."
Millstein predicted expansion into Spain is likely to be ATX's next major expansion step in Europe followed by coverage in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
ATX provides to automobile manufacturers a trans-Atlantic telematics platform that is not dependent on a specific wireless carrier, telematics protocol, content provider, or the customer's preferred language. The company supports multiple wireless carriers to establish seamless, wireless voice and data connectivity between telematics vehicles and the ATX European Response Center in Dusseldorf, Germany, without the driver needing to use a new SIM card upon crossing borders.
ATX's telematics services are provided through the two-way communication of voice and data between a subscriber's telematics-equipped automobile and the company's response and data centers. ATX currently provides drivers with Italian-, German-, French-, and English-language response to on-road emergencies, ranging from a vehicle breakdown and routing assistance to notifying emergency response agencies of an emergency inside the vehicle or a collision, and guiding them to the exact location of the accident. In the near future, telematics centers could also provide data from in-vehicle crash sensors that would give emergency responders the ability to interpret and predict the expected crash severity and potential for serious injury, thereby enhancing the type of emergency response dispatched immediately to the scene. At the same time, telematics centers serve as a critical safeguard for driver privacy and personal vehicle information, filtering what type of information is conveyed to public authorities.
Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area and Dusseldorf, Germany, ATX Group is the world's second largest provider of telematics services for the automobile industry, serving both North America and Europe. ATX telematics services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security and driving convenience to vehicle owners. These services include location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics and real-time traffic and navigation assistance. ATX, the largest independent telematics provider not owned by an automobile manufacturer or telecommunications firm, also provides telematics services designed to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships to use telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.