OREANDA-NEWS. January 11, 2016. SKODA has received the Connected Car Award 2015 in the ‘Pioneer-Award’ category for their innovative connectivity solution SmartGate. The award presented by the magazines AUTO BILD and COMPUTER BILD acknowledges the Czech carmaker’s smart solution for interlinking the model range with their own SKODA Apps. The SmartGate and SmartLink systems are the driving force behind connectivity in SKODA vehicles.

This is the third time the magazines AUTO BILD and COMPUTER BILD have presented their Connected Car Award, which is given to manufacturers for the most intelligent solutions to integrating smartphones, the Internet and navigation into the car’s systems.

SKODA was presented with the award at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. “We are delighted to have been given the 'Pioneer Award' for our SmartGate system,” says SKODA CEO Bernhard Maier, adding, “With our latest generation of cars, the topic of connectivity has become increasingly important across our model range. Winning the Connected Car Award shows that our solutions for car/mobile networking have been very well received by the customers. As a cornerstone of our growth strategy, we will be putting a lot of energy into pursuing our Connected Car offer.”

Smartgate is featured in the SKODA Fabia, Octavia, Rapid, Rapid Spaceback, Yeti and Superb. By using the innovative system and the related apps, mobile devices can be linked to the car to retrieve useful information, such as fuel consumption, driving dynamics or service notifications. Another clever function is SmartLink, allowing smartphone apps to be mirrored and accessed on the vehicle’s infotainment screen.

The ?KODA Superb, introduced in mid-2015, plays a key role in the area of car connectivity at SKODA. SmartLink (MirrorLink™/Apple CarPlay/Android Auto) conveniently allows the infotainment system to be accessed with your smartphone. Vehicle data can be accessed and used in various ways via the SKODA SmartGate function. With optional high-speed Internet (LTE), the SKODA Superb can also become a mobile hotspot in conjunction with the Columbus infotainment system. Another highlight is the ability to control the Columbus system remotely: Selected services from the infotainment interface can be displayed on your tablet or smartphone via Wi-Fi and the new SKODA App Media Command.

The SmartGate function, which recently won the ‘Pioneer Award’, boats many useful applications. Around 40 different parameters on the respective cars can be displayed.

With SmartGate and the corresponding apps, the user receives useful information, for example, on consumption and speed. Values such as average speeds, operating costs and additional information can be displayed via the SKODA Drive app. In addition, the user can view the route travelled on a map, then save the journey on the SKODA Drive Portal, where you can manage data and useful statistics or graphs, and even share them on social media.

The SmartGate apps are available to download free from the Apple Store, Google Play and Windows Store.