Vehicles could be operated with proper insurance cover after building this ecosystem.
Truck on the road. Image credit: VanveenJF/Unsplash
SINOIOV is a road freight service platform based on the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, geographic information and location services. Following an investment of CNY 700 million from Ant Financial at the end of last year, it has recently completed a new round of financing, courtesy of Sunshine Insurance.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a world-wide network connecting smart objects together. Where this concerns only smart vehicles, then it is the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). Innovators pushing the so-called IoV are not only attempting to transform the in-car entertainment experience, but to solve the relationship between cars, cars and roads and cars and people in an all-round way. The scheme should not only bring more advanced technologies such as upgraded forms of video but also things like smart keys, voice control, automatic parking and 'intelligent adaptive cruise' mode while driving. Proponents also claim they will reduce the accident rate, improve traffic and enhance car safety, and so on.
To achieve such a powerful set of functions, a long list of auto manufacturers, vehicle terminal companies, telecom operators, software developers and service providers need to take up their respective roles and coordinate.
According to the China Industrial Information Network, the global automotive electronic components market was worth USD 201.7 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 240 billion by 2020 (CAGR of 5%). According to estimates, the proportion of electronic components increased from 18% in 2013 to 23% in 2018, among them, the proportion of the Chinese market was about 14% in 2018.
As the world's largest commercial vehicle IoV platform, SINOIOV is well-positioned as a technology company providing diversified products for the massive road freight industry and is committed to building China's leading integrated road freight service platform. Since 2017, SINOIOV has started a series of commercial explorations, combining the advantages of IoV big data with logistics, finance and insurance scenarios.
The future growth point may come from SMEs. The logistics industry makes a good combination with inclusive finance. This round's investor, Sunshine Insurance, may value the strategic level business of 'IoV + Insurance.'
China has become the world's largest road transport market, with a market size of more than CNY 5 trillion, and the commercial truck insurance market is also close to CNY 200 billion. However, insurance companies have been struggling to identify underwriting risks. They can only roughly distinguish vehicle risk costs through vehicle-to-vehicle factors such as vehicle type, brand, tonnage and service life, and it is often impossible to understand and intervene in driving risks so that trucks can be operated with proper insurance cover. This has put the insurance business in a dilemma.
It is also worth noting that insurance technology is the sector that is favored by capital in the context of the capital winter of this year. Overall, 31 financing activities have been completed so far.