Upcoming Hyundai Venue to debut Blue Link connectivity technology in India

Hyundai has made a big announcement that its upcoming Venue compact SUV will be India's first 'smart connected' car and will mark the debut of Hyundai's global Blue Link connectivity technology in the country.

Just days after announcing the moniker of its upcoming compact SUV, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has revealed that the Venue will feature the brand's 'Blue Link' connectivity technology, which will mark its debut in India. This does not come as much of a surprise, as Hyundai's latest teaser campaign for the Venue laid out some fairly easy-to-judge hints, like the use of the #WhenYouLoveToBeConnected.

For those unaware, the Blue Link is Hyundai's renowned Smart Connectivity Technology that made its debut in the United States in 2012. The technology allows users to connect their smartphones to their vehicle's interface. Using an app, they can control a host of features on the vehicle, ranging from safety and security features to location-based services and the vehicle's status reports. Blue Link also provides various alert services in case of emergencies, which can also be controlled through voice.

The Hyundai Blue Link will be rolled out in India with 33 features, out of which 10 have been developed specifically to suit the requirements of the average Indian car user. Emphasising its commitment towards safety, the Venue will feature dedicated buttons for emergency services like SOS (Save Our Souls) Assistance and RSA (Road-Side Assistance) on the Inside Rear-View Mirror (IRVM) for easy and quick access. Other crucial safety and security features on board include Panic Notification, Auto Crash Notification, Stolen Vehicle Tracking & Immobilisation and Geo-Fence Alert (it sends a text alert to the user's mobile phone in case the vehicle has breached a prescribed geographical barrier), to name a few.

Commenting on this soon-to-arrive technological breakthrough for India, Mr Seon Seob Kim, MD & CEO at HMIL, said, 'We are delighted to share that the Hyundai Venue, our upcoming SUV, will come equipped with the Hyundai Global BlueLink Connectivity solution for our customers in India, making it the “Most Smart-Connected SUV in the Market." The connected car technology is becoming more interactive and intuitive, connecting people to their families, work and society with unlimited possibilities...'

'With 10 India-specific features, I am confident that Hyundai BlueLink will be the most practical, concrete and convenient connected car technology for the Indian market. The BlueLink technology will be available in future Hyundai products starting from the Venue, thus democratising the technology and making it accessible for everybody,' he added.

The Blue Link's in-built and tamper-proof device module will be powered by a Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) eSIM and a cloud-based AI Voice Recognition platform, which HMIL claims has been developed specifically to interpret almost any type of local English accent spoken in the country. Further, users can access location-based services, such as real-time traffic navigation and local search on the map using voice recognition.

With this, the Hyundai Venue is all set to become the most 'technologically-advanced' option in its segment, when it will be launched here sometime in May 2019. However, with a heavy dose of features, there's also a concern that the Venue might just be priced significantly above if its rivals, like the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon and the Mahindra XUV300. However, we'll have to wait for the official launch to know the pricing.

Meanwhile, here's a list of all 33 features which will be offered with the Hyundai Blue Link in India:

*We are yet to receive a detailed description of all the above-mentioned features and services.