The percentage of new passenger cars shipping globally with factory-installed telematics will increase from less than 10% in 2010 to 62% in 2016, according to ABI Research.

According to ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte, “Several factors are driving the uptake of OEM telematics, the most important being an automotive industry that is emerging from a painful recession and finding renewed dynamism.

"Soaring interest levels in the adoption of open platforms and the integration of smartphones and telematics applications into vehicles represents nothing less than a renaissance of both the consumer and commercial telematics markets," he flannels. "Initiatives such as the open source GENIVI infotainment platform and Nokia’s Terminal Mode standard are creating high expectations and result in industry wide cooperation."

However, ABI says concerns still remain as to the long-term viability of a still highly fragmented telematics industry, with traditional players such as Telematics Service Providers (TSPs) and automotive Tier 1 suppliers threatened with being squeezed out by a new breed of connected navigation and software developer challengers.

Other market barriers include stalling telematics legislation with both the EU’s eCall and Brazil’s SVT stolen vehicle tracking projects continuing to suffer from delays and indecisiveness. Finally, despite the many benefits offered by telematics smartphone applications, they also bring new safety risks through increased driver distraction which in turn could lead to legislation limiting the use of portable devices in vehicles.