Kia UVO Connect 'Phase II' announced for European markets

UVO Connect's 'Phase II' features offer better traffic prediction, last-mile navigation using augmented reality and user profile transfer functionality.

Kia Motors is all set to roll out the enhanced versi0n of its UVO Connect services, UVO Connect 'Phase II', in European markets starting this year. UVO Phase II connected car features will be offered on all model year updates throughout the year, including the new 4th-gen Kia Sorento.

One of the most useful 'Phase II' features to be offered in UVO Connect-equipped vehicles will be an improved ‘Online Navigation’, that combines cloud-based real-time & historical traffic data to give a more accurate traffic prediction, in terms of traffic density, journey times & estimated time of arrival.

The navigation services have been further improved with the addition of a new augmented-reality-based  ‘Last Mile Navigation’ feature. It allows customers to reach their final destination, after parking the vehicle. Once the vehicle is parked, the feature lets users seamlessly access Google Maps navigation to complete their journey on foot.

As an alternative, users can also engage the ‘AR Guidance’ mode, which opens the smartphone’s camera & blends the image with AR turn-by-turn directional arrows. This feature has been incorporated keeping in mind modern towns & cities where parking hubs are often some distance away from shops, cafés & restaurants. The feature is also capable of sending an app notification to the user if his/her destination is between 200 metres & 2kms away.

Those who frequently switch between different UVO Connect-equipped Kia cars, such as fleet drivers, will benefit from the new 'User Profile Transfer' functionality via the UVO Connect app. This allows users to directly modify/transfer their settings & preferences on a vehicle, or even back them up on a cloud-based server. When the ignition is turned on, customers are automatically greeted with their preferred settings (even if a vehicle is switched).

The new 'Valet Parking Mode' allows a vehicle owner to monitor the car & its whereabouts remotely from the app when the vehicle is being used by someone else. The owner can also lock access to any stored personal information on the system.

Sharing his thoughts on UVO Connect 'Phase II', Pablo Martinez Masip (Chief Operating Officer - Kia UVO Connect) said, 'We strive to introduce technologies that make life behind the wheel easier and more intuitive for our customers. UVO Connect, already available across much of our range, is central to this goal, and the new "Phase II" features revealed today will make journeys even easier.'

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