The challenge to ensure mass adoption of electric vehicles is range anxiety.

The effort is spearheaded by Continental, the first supplier to partner with Better Place to design and develop smart navigation head units for the Renault Fluence EV. Several others have now followed suit, for growing commitment of suppliers to provide value added services to the emerging EV space.

Hitachi and Airbiquity will provide connected services based on a communication unit, charge monitoring and recharging services. Ford and Microsoft (News - Alert) have created Hohm, a software package that monitors charging patterns and suggests recharge times based on electricity rates and demand on the grid. Debuting in the Ford Focus EV, Holm will offer energy management and hassle free EV ownership experience.

"Aware (News - Alert) that telematics and connected services can help diffuse negative perceptions, telematics hardware and service providers are starting to actively engage in this market by providing highly customizable OEM-specific connected services packages," states Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) Programme Manager, Praveen Chandrasekar, in a new article, Telematics and Connected Services Play a Vital Role in Ensuring an Enhanced Ownership Experience of an EV.

"The leasing model, for example, currently offered by Renault and Nissan, presents an ideal opportunity for service subscription costs to be bundled along with the battery and energy subscription packages," added Chandrasekar. "This will leave the driver with a single bill, which will account for a host of connected telematics services provided including locating charging stations, booking charging stations, smart charging and a few convenience features built-in like interior pre-conditioning."

Electric Vehicles Unplugged 2010, will bring together key decision makers including Government, OEMs, Supplier infrastructure companies and Major Fleet Managers, to provide insights into the structure of new business models and their implications for industry stakeholders.