Volkswagen Financial Services AG seeks new ways to talk to customers

“Viable Automotive Applications and Content” panel at Telematics Munich 2012 October 29-30

Volkswagen Financial Services AG (VWFSAG) has global responsibility for banking, leasing and insurance and, more recently, mobility services, such ascar sharing, long-term rental, and various mobility services within the Volkswagen Group. “Wherever mobility is changing, and consumers are coming to us and asking for new ways to approach mobility,” says Lars Moereke, who heads up  automotive applications for VWFSAG.

“It takes time to implement new mobility services in cars, so we want to shrink that time gap by providing services that are accessible by smartphones or by an aftersales unit,” Moereke says. VWFSAG is currently pilot-testing pay-as-you-drive with Audi in Berlin and may make the option more widely available next year. VWFSAG is also piloting car-sharing in Hannover with “Quicar,” it has developed the app “AutoKarte,” which provides navigation, traffic and commuter information, gas station locations and other services, and it is currently developing an app for fleet management.

“These are all new ways of ‘talking’ to our customers,” Moereke adds. “Until quite recently, the only opportunity a car manufacturer had to talk to customers was when the customer was in the dealer showroom. Now we have the opportunity to talk regularly to customers because we at VWFSAG have a charging relationship with them, much like a telecom company. We know if the customer is still driving the car, or if the car was taken to a Volkswagen dealer for service. Having all of this customer data to deal with provides an opportunity, and especially so when we add a smartphone app.”

The car business is changing as consumers’ attitudes toward car ownership change. “The trend is moving from buying a car and keeping it from five to seven years to using cars for mobility whenever it’s needed,” Moereke explains. “Especially in urban areas, consumers remain interested in driving cars but are less interested in owning them. They come to us asking for a solution. We don’t want to lose them as customers, so we are looking at new ways to meet customers’ needs.”

Lars Moereke will participate in a panel discussion of “Viable Automotive Applications and Content” during Telematics Munich 2012, a Telematics Update conference scheduled for October 29-30 at the Hilton Park Hotel in Munich. Moereke will be joined on the panel by representatives from SBD, Continental, QNX Software Systems, Freescale Semiconductor and BMW Group. For additional information or to register for the conference visit http://www.telematicsupdate.com/munich/conference-agenda.php

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