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Six Suppliers Join Over-The-Counter Car Locator Arena

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 4/2/2001

With telematics expected to be a $2 billion industry in the next few years, suppliers are racing to enter a new segment of the market: over-the-counter car locators.

At least five aftermarket companies are debuting automatic car locators this year, with Code-Alarm the first to ship, with a full line of four models under the GuidePoint brand. Audiovox, AutoStart, DEI and Immobiliser are also entering the segment, and LoJack will offer a new aftermarket locator. Alpine said it is developing a telematics product to be available after 2001.

Industry members said they are entering the segment because the statistics are too good to ignore. There are 65 million people who would want to use a car locator if they were aware of the product, said AutoStart sales and marketing director Louis Gadbois, referring to Motorola statistics.

Directed Electronics (DEI) CEO Jim Minarik said of the launch, "We look at the same research that everyone else is looking at. Telematics is expected to be a $2 billion market by 2003, and we definitely intend to be a player in it. I've been waiting for a cost-effective solution, and I think we have a very attractive package both in hardware and the service."

"The numbers are huge," stated Rand Mueller, CEO of Code Technologies, the telematics arm of Code-Alarm. "Some of them predict a $25 billion market in 2007, and today it's $1 billion, so that's ridiculous growth-24 times in seven years. All indications are pointing to the car as becoming a mobile Internet portal."

Code Technologies is one of the more aggressive entrants into automatic car locators-which typically combine GPS and cellular communications to allow consumers to track their vehicle via the Internet-and claims it had the first over-the-counter car locator to hit store shelves. The company has teamed up with Automobile Club of America (AAA) and @Road, which are both investors in Code Technology, along with Code-Alarm, to deliver four tele-matics products.

The GuidePoint series begins with a "LoJack type" stolen-vehicle retrieval package called the GPS1. Users buy at $599 a GPS/CDPD-based black box. With no monthly service charge, users dial into a call center via an 800 number if their car is stolen, and GuidePoint will locate the vehicle and notify the police.

Step-up package GPS2 adds roadside, navigation and vehicle-location assistance. Users can dial the call center to ask for directions, locate their car and receive roadside assistance, including medical aid. Through differential GPS, the call center or monitoring center can determine if a customer is in an accident.

Code Technologies' Mueller explained, "We know that if you are travelling at 60 miles an hour, and you go to 0 miles in 100 milliseconds, to contact you. We don't rely on airbags, which can be faulty." The plan allows for dispatch of a tow vehicle to bring the customer's car to a service center within an authorized national network.

In addition, if a teenager who has borrowed the car is out late at night, for example, users can call an 800 number to locate their vehicle, Mueller said. The monthly service fee for GPS2 is $19.95, including unlimited car-locate requests. The GPS2 basic equipment is $649.

GPS3 offers the above features plus such concierge services as remote unlock or start at $29.95 per month, plus $699 for the basic car locator (installed).

The GPS4 adds unlimited roadside assistance, travel discounts, personalized trip routing and Internet access so users can locate their car and receive updates on the car's mechanical functioning via the Internet. A rental car can also be dispatched to the scene at a 50 percent discount rate, Mueller said.

The service includes bread-crumb tracking (a history of where the car has been) and geo-fencing (the user is notified if the car travels outside a user-prescribed area). The GPS4 service is $39.95 a month, or $44.95 if ISP service is required, and the basic locator has a suggested retail price of $749.95.

DEI will enter the market in June with the Valet Car Com 2. First announced at CES in January, Car Com 2 allows Web-enabled two-way GPS vehicle locating with "bread crumb" tracking and "geo-fencing." It also allows wireless one-way commands, including remote start and door unlock via Internet or telephone.

DEI claims that Car Com 2 provides the largest national footprint available in the United States and is competitive in service fees. The Car Com 2 is expected to carry a $699 suggested retail price, which will include security, keyless entry or remote engine start. DEI announced that Seaguard will be its service provider and that monthly service packages will start at $72 per year.

The top-of-the-line package is $149.95 per year plus a $20 activation fee that allows unlimited one-way commands, four tracking events per year, and 30 onscreen vehicle locations per month.

Seaguard will offer both automated and operator-assisted services for Car Com 2. DEI said its SkyAlert service will be the first to offer regularly scheduled automated wireless testing procedures with the ability to instantly notify the owner in the case of a malfunction.

Audiovox will launch a line of car locators under the Pursuit Tracker brand in the next 60 days, according to senior VP Tom Malone.

The packages will begin with a basic stolen-vehicle recovery service with no monthly charge. Additional packages will add such services as online tracking, remote door lock/unlock and remote start at monthly fees to be determined. The basic unit is expected to sell in the $699 to $799 range, said Malone.

Other newcomers to the market include AutoStart, which said it began shipping the Vigil GPS/digital cellular-based system last month, and Immobiliser, which is planning a national launch of its GPS Vision for midsummer (see TWICE, Feb 12, p. 42). The latter is test-marketing GPS Vision in Houston to determine its service package and features.

LoJack is planning to enter the Web-based car locator segment after pioneering the stolen-vehicle recovery market.

The company said it will release an aftermarket product that will use a consumer's existing personal cellphone and GPS to provide services such as roadside assistance, Web-assisted tracking, door unlock, starter disable, emergency 911 and accident notification, as well as stolen-vehicle location.

The system will tap into a call-in center, and if a user is in an accident, the call-in center will call that user.

Marketing director Paul McMahon said no pricing has been set, although the company is aiming for a competitively priced system. Because the original LoJack is available in 18 states and the District of Columbia, it hasn't been determined if the system will be nationwide.

Though not planning a market entry this year, other companies continue to examine the segment.

Alpine, which discontinued its Mobile MayDay as of Dec. 31, 2000 (although the service is available to current owners through 2003), said it is regrouping to offer a digital cellular-based product. According to manager of product promotion Todd Van Zandt, the decision to stop producing Mobile MayDay came when AT&T announced it would discontinue its analog cellular service by 2003 (Mobile MayDay used AT&T's analog service).

"We're in hiatus mode," said Van Zandt, noting the company will return with a digital cellular product and that it is examining both operator-assisted and Web-assisted solutions.

Crimestopper said it is also eyeing the market. According to president Howard Miller, "We're certainly looking at it, but we haven't officially decided to go into yet-and I'm also waiting to see how they do before I jump into it."

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