Exactly five years ago, in December 2015, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Cruze equipped with OnStar and an internet connection as the first truly connected car in South America. Since then, the company has incorporated this technology into most of the vehicles it sells in that region, where Chevrolet connected cars have seen a large increase in volume over the past year.
In Brazil alone, the largest auto market in the region, Chevrolet has a fleet of some 215,000 active connected cars so far. This represents an increase of 80 percent compared to the amount it had in December 2019, consolidating the Bow Tie brand as the absolute leader in connectivity in the South American country. The number of connected Chevrolet vehicles throughout the southern continent currently exceeds 350,000 units.
“People are increasingly connected and this requires more bytes, said the Director of Connected Services at GM South America, Rosana Herbst, in a press release. “Consumers are also looking for the highest possible internet quality, including in the car, where speed and travel affect the stability of the cellular signal,” she explained.
Chevrolet’s connected car revolution in South America began in September 2019 with the mid-cycle update of the second-generation Cruze, the first vehicle to offer an on-board Wi-Fi hotspot in the region. However, the model responsible for the significant increase of connected cars in the South American market was the new Chevrolet Onix, which went on sale during the same month last year in Brazil.
GM claims that on-board Wi-Fi consumption in Chevrolet connected cars increased 30 times this year in Brazil alone, the digital acceleration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic being one of the catalysts behind that massive growth. The technology is available in the Onix, Tracker, Cruze, S10, TrailBlazer and Camaro as a competitive advantage for the Bow Tie brand in the region.
In addition to faster navigation, social media and streaming performance thanks to a much more powerful antenna than a cell phone’s, Chevrolet’s on-board Wi-Fi connectivity innovates by now enabling over-the-air updates using OnStar’s advanced services. These are considered important advantages for customers, enhancing the brand’s image in the region.
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