OREANDA-NEWS. OnStar has fielded more than 1 billion requests from customers, who interact by phone, mobile app or embedded cellular service in their cars and trucks.

Launched nearly 19 years ago as an industry-first service that would place a call from the vehicle when an air bag deployed, OnStar today remotely unlocks doors, loads driving directions directly to the vehicle, compiles and sends emails on vehicle health and can aid law enforcement by slowing down a vehicle being pursued.

A customer contacts OnStar every two seconds. That adds up to about 5 million calls a month from its subscriber base of more than 7 million. Add 8.8 million interactions a month from the RemoteLink mobile app and you can see how indispensable OnStar has become since launching on three Cadillac models in 1996.

“OnStar created the original connected car in 1996 and today remains at the forefront of innovation through the services offered in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and soon, Opel vehicles around the globe,” said Alicia Boler-Davis, senior vice president, General Motors Global Connected Customer Experience.

“The pace at which the brand has reached 1 billion interactions shows the vast customer demand for vehicle connectivity and there’s no doubt our second billion interactions will come even quicker.”

By the numbers, here is what 1 billion interactions looks like:

OnStar has even helped deliver babies and works with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

In honor of the milestone, OnStar has provided loyal subscribers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and China with a year of premium OnStar service. Top performing OnStar advisors in each market were honored as well.

Before becoming known as OnStar, the original name for the service was Project Beacon. Its goal was integrating wireless communication into vehicles, years before mass adoption of smartphones.

In the fall of 1996, OnStar debuted in the Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado. The service initially offered Airbag Deployment Notifications, the core of OnStar’s safety and security premise, which progressed into Automatic Crash Response that uses sensors capable of determining the severity of a crash impact and alerting an OnStar emergency advisor to assist. OnStar today responds to more than 100,000 emergency calls every month.

OnStar features have expanded to convenience services such as Turn-by-Turn Navigation, which is used 3.8 million times every month to download driver-requested directions to the vehicle. OnStar also sends more than 4 million vehicle diagnostic emails each month, providing up-to-date checks on a vehicle’s key operating systems.

RemoteLink enables its 1.5 million active users to lock and unlock their vehicle, start the engine and access vehicle diagnostics such as tire pressure and oil life from their mobile devices.

“We need to provide an overall customer experience that will keep customers coming back for life,” said Boler-Davis. “To do that, we need to meet customers on their terms and offer them a variety of choices. We realize every customer is different.”

OnStar services include OnStar 4G LTE, a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot inside properly equipped 2015 and newer model year vehicles. More than 1 million Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC vehicles on the road in the U.S. and Canada have OnStar 4G LTE. The service will be available in China and Europe later this year.

New OnStar services include Smart Driver Assessment, through which consenting drivers can get feedback on their driving habits for potential insurance discounts, and Advanced Diagnostics, which includes real-time and proactive vehicle health alerts.

OnStar, a wholly owned subsidiary of GM Holdings LLC (“GM”) that launched in 1996, offers in-vehicle safety, security and connectivity services in Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick-GMC models, including Automatic Crash Response, Stolen Vehicle Assistance, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, RemoteLink mobile app and 4G LTE Wi-Fi. Along with its affiliate Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd (a joint venture involving OnStar and SAIC General Motors), OnStar has 7 million subscribers in North America and China. In 2015, OnStar recorded its 1 billionth customer interaction, topped more than 1 million 4G LTE Wi-Fi equipped-vehicles, and launched in Opel/Vauxhall.