VW starts sales of black-box recorder for vehicle data

Bloomberg is reporting that Volkswagen plans to sell a little black box in Austria that records trips and also tracks the location of a car. It is trying to gauge European demand for connected-vehicle services.

The DiBox allows the user to access data on the car via a smartphone and is available for new as well as pre-owned VW and Audi models. Volkswagen Group plans to extend this to its other brands and to expand the service to other European markets.

Bloomberg is reporting that the device, which connects to a vehicle’s electronics system, will cost €299, plus an annual subscription fee of €49.

Volkswagen and BMW are among manufacturers developing wireless links for cars to add features that warn other vehicles of traffic jams and ultimately facilitate autonomous driving.

Regulators are also backing the spread of the technology, with the European Union planning to require that new cars be equipped with a system that automatically notifies emergency services after a serious crash.