By Joseph White
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co plans to offer subscriptions for its Onstar Guardian security services to anyone in the United States or Canada who wants to download a smartphone app, expanding beyond owners of GM vehicles in a step to generate recurring revenue.
Onstar Guardian services, including roadside assistance and crash response dispatching, will be offered through an Apple or Android smartphone app to people who don’t drive GM vehicles for $15 a month after a one-month trial, GM said.
GM Chief Executive Mary Barra is pushing to extend Onstar’s reach – and its monthly subscription revenues – as part of a broader plan to expand the automaker’s sources of income beyond manufacturing cars and trucks.
Onstar is developing new insurance offers and a data analytics service for fleet operators.
GM, in its announcement, did not say how much additional revenue it expects from offering Onstar Guardian beyond the GM vehicle owner population. The company does not break out Onstar’s financial results.
(Reporting By Joe White; editing by Barbara Lewis)
