Abstract
Citroen actually started its telematics program in December 1997. We started out from the fact that people are spending more and more time in their cars because of traffic jams and increasing commuting time. How could Citroen help them to spend this time usefully? Can we imagine the car as a link between home and office? How can we provide value added services to our customer?
These were the main questions we wanted to solve. Our concern was also not to distract the driver and to keep the same level of safety.
At the Paris Motor Show in October 1998, we revealed the first Xsara Windows CE equipped with an integrated AutoPC system. This car was the result of a close co-operation between Microsoft, Clarion and Citroen. In 2000, we sold another 500 Xsara Windows CE to customers who gave us very instructive feedback. It was the first multimedia car in the world.
This year, we will produce 2.000 Xsara and C5 with AutoPC. Furthermore, during the Barcelona Mortor Show (May 2001), Citroen tested the latest Citroen model, the C5, with a GPRS terminal for the back passengers. It will be the first GPRS equipped car in the world. With our ten prototypes we will implement the same learning process. Regarding 3G, we will participate at trials together with telecom operators.