OREANDA-NEWS. Vodafone has announced that Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., a part of the USD 15.9 billion Mahindra Group,  has powered its recently launched e2o electric vehicle - the first truly 'connected car' - with Vodafone's machine-to-machine (M2M) communication services.

Drivers of the e2o can remotely access a range of features and functions by using a smartphone app or dedicated web page.  For example, they can check their battery charge, remotely control air-conditioning, lock or unlock doors and find the nearest charging station. The e2o also automatically alerts its owner if the parking brake is off or a door is left unlocked.  Vodafone's communication technologies and M2M platform provide secure connectivity between the vehicle and the central application. 

Chetan Maini, Founder and Chief of Technology and Strategy of Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. said, 'The e2o is the first and only Indian car, and among the few worldwide, to have telematics based features that enable 'anytime, anywhere connectivity' between our customers and their cars. The high performance telematics solution developed by Mahindra Reva for the e2o offers one of the richest set of telematics enabled features offered on any car in the world today. We are pleased to partner with Vodafone as our exclusive Machine-to-Machine mobile connectivity solution provider. Going forward, connected car technologies will make a difference to convenience and safety, thereby making a positive impact on the way people commute and interact with their cars. We are sure that our association with Vodafone will provide an even greater value proposition to our customers and enable new innovations in this exciting space in the future.'

Erik Brenneis, Director of M2M, Vodafone, said, 'Vodafone brings together the world's largest mobile network, an outstanding customer experience and long track record of success in the global automotive market.  We are proud to be the first telecom service provider to bring the M2M service platform to the Indian market today.  An industry tailored offering coupled with secure connectivity, best in class M2M service platform and superior network from Vodafone provide Mahindra Reva the capability to develop a whole range of new services around India's first connected car'.

With 9.7 million M2M connections and over 250 M2M specialists around the world, Vodafone is a leading provider in this fast-growing market and was recognised in February 2013 as an M2M Industry Icon by Analysys Mason in its independent M2M scorecard report.