Volkswagen hints at the driving data of the future

Picture credit: iStockphoto

German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has announced a new partnership with Inrix, a move that offers a glimpse at the type of data drivers will have at their fingertips over the coming years.

Inrix, a big data company that specialises in traffic information, analytics and driver services for connected cars and smart cities worldwide, will be offering VW access to its Inrix Park and Inrix Fuel services.

VW intends to use the Inrix products in its new European Passat models equipped with Discover Pro and Car-Net navigation to begin with, but a wider roll out is expected to occur on the continent later next year.

Parking information

Inrix Park provides information on where a driver can leave their car, with real-time data on the current cost to park, available spaces and location information backed by a database of 55,000 off-street parking locations in 41 European countries.

Whereas Inrix Fuel serves a similar smorgasbord of data on garages in 22 European countries. It has pricing and payment option information for more than 170,000 fuel stations, letting drivers compare the cost of where they can fill up their tank.

Volkswagen is no strange to Inrix, according to Andreas Hecht, the company’s vice president and general manager of automotive, with the two having collaborated on traffic data in the past.

"Volkswagen drivers already benefit from Inrix real-time traffic information and the addition of our parking and fuel services will further help them to save time, money and frustration and reduce congestion on our roads."

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