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The AA is developing a suite of connected car services
The breakdown service is teaming up with two other European roadside assistance clubs and Intelematics, a connected-car services company which currently operates in Australia and California.
The AA, Intelematics and the Dutch ANWB roadside assistance club will each have a stake in the new business accounting for a third of the business, while Austria’s OAMTC club will also have a small share.
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AA patrols may soon be able to know your car is about to break down before it happens
The new venture means that the AA now has software that would allow it to offer a range of services to members, from spotting when a battery is about to fail - currently one of the main causes of breakdowns - to recommending nearby hotels, fuel stations or independent garages.
Motorists will be able to access these features via a dongle that they plug in to the car’s on-board diagnostics port.
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The AA has a total of 13.2 million customers
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Battery failure is currently one of the main causes of breakdowns
Bob Mackenzie, executive chairman of the AA, said this connected car initiative would take the company to “the next level of digital capability”.
The AA - which has a total of 13.2m customers, split between businesses and private motorists - also plans to offer specialist services for young drivers, including one described as “fuel splitting”, which would allow drivers to divide the cost of petrol between passengers.
In addition, it is also planning to develop its current telematics-based insurance products, which uses trip-based data from the car to assess the different levels like of risk associated with different drivers.
- Daily Express