PSA spreads the eCall message

After three years of experience with its emergency call system in seven European countries, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen will extend the service to two more EU member states during the first half of 2007.

PSA launched the service in 2003 in partnership with French messaging system Steria and European networks NetSize and Inter Mutuelles Assistance (IMA). It currently covers France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

In 2005, a traffic information service was added, and in January this year the system was certified as complying with official French safety standards.

Austria and Portugal will be added to the network shortly, using IMA and NetSize. NetSize relays all calls to Paris, while IMA has centers in Brussels, Munich and Madrid.

Some 300,000 cars have been sold with the PSA emergency telematics platform, which is based on hardware from Italian supplier Magneti Marelli.

In Peugeot cars the system is called RT3-4, in Citroen NaviDrive. Buyers activate their emergency connection with a SIM card and in the event of an accident. This automatically transmits a signal that details the type of vehicle, its exact GPS location and mobile phone number, enabling the IMA hotline to establish voice contact. More than 4,500 calls for assistance and over 1,000 emergency calls have so far been dealt with by the service.

Incorporating audio, voice function control, GPS navigation and a hands-free mobile phone, the system is a €2,000 option. PSA is working on a basic system that does not require a SIM card with a target price of €150.

Right now a handful of automakers such as PSA offer their own emergency call services in Europe, but the EU doesn’t think that will be enough to help halve road fatalities here to 25,000 by 2010. That is why the EU wants a Europewide emergency call system in place before the end of the decade.

Technology roadblock

The realization of eCall depends on the agreement of all EU member states to upgrade their infrastructure. The European Commission wants eCall linked to a Europewide emergency number, 112, so it will work anywhere in the EU. But many EU members have been slow to adopt 112 as an emergency number.

The Commission wanted eCall (short for emergency call) in all new cars starting in 2009. But some EU members balked, delaying introduction until at least 2010.

Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, a member of the European Parliament and board member of the European Transport and Safety Council, told Automotive News Europe: “Every delay in respect of eCall costs lives. With the in-vehicle emergency call system, the rescue time halves.” He said that up to 7,000 fatalities a year could be avoided and 45,000 severe injuries could turn into slight injuries.

Key countries missing

Koch added: “Our aim should be to fit every car with eCall. To establish a functioning infrastructure of emergency points, it is up to the member states to sign the memorandum of understanding as soon as possible.”

Some EU members say they will participate if all the others sign. Committed EU members include Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland and Slovakia. Outside the EU, Norway and Switzerland will join. Other EU members expressed informal support, including Germany, Netherlands and the UK.

Wolfgang Reinhardt, director of regulatory affairs at the European car manufacturers association (ACEA), estimates that it would cost €4.5 billion to pay for and install eCall hardware in all cars in Europe, and there is no agreement on how the participants -- automakers, EU states, emergency service providers and insurance companies -- would share the financial burden.

Reinhardt believes that the EU schedule for eCall installation in all new cars from 2009 will be pushed back by at least a year because of the hurdles still to be overcome, but brand-specific services like PSA’s can have a role to play, he said.

Said Reinhardt: “What is important is to find the best, reliable, cost-efficient and future-proof solution either by launching additional studies and/or cross-border field tests. For a public service across Europe we would need one agreed standard.”

You may e-mail Ian Morton at [email protected]