It is quite easy to lose your car in the supermarket, multi-level car parks. What is even worse is being left a car in the airport car parking station – you have the keys, but no idea which floor! You walk everywhere pressing the button, looking for a car somewhere to wink its lights at you!
However, according to Mercedes-Benz, finding the car is only a tap of a smartphone away when you’ve lost it in a parking maze.
Mercedes-Benz says the average age of its buyers is getting younger – but it has just unveiled technology that will help owners locate their car if they forget where they parked.
Now what floor again?
Using a similar system to Apple’s ‘Find My iPhone’, the new technology will enable Mercedes-Benz customers to pinpoint their vehicle at the supermarket.
“Customers are demanding more convenience items in their cars,” said a Mercedes-Benz spokesman at the unveiling of the technology on the eve of the Geneva motor show overnight. “They want access, they want mobility and they want to be able to find their car. People lead hectic lives these days.”
The technology is expected to be available on Mercedes-Benz passenger cars from next year, although the car maker declined to nominate which model and how much the option would cost.
The announcement of Mercedes-Benz’s ‘Find My Car’ feature coincided with the introduction of Apple’s CarPlay, which imports commonly used phone apps onto the car’s central display screen.
CarPlay will appear in Fiat, Volvo, Ferrari and Mercedes cars at first, but others will follow, the technology company says.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz says it is also developing improved Android and Google integration into its car communication systems.
While debate continues about driver distraction in cars, automobile manufacturers are increasingly joining forces with technology companies to reduce the number of distractions.
Last year Toyota unveiled an upgraded radio unit for the Corolla sold in Europe that could send and receive social media updates on Facebook and Twitter.
