Skoda enhances Connect App for enhanced user experience

Skoda, the Czech car maker is consolidating the functions of the Skoda Connect app and the Skoda One app into the updated version of its Connect App. The new update combines the features offered by the two previous apps, thus providing a unified point of access for all the services and seamless vehicle connectivity following a one time registration.

Andre Wehner, Skoda Auto’s Chief Digital Officer, said, “By merging the apps, we are consolidating our software system with the aim of enabling our customers to use our digital services easily, conveniently and seamlessly across multiple devices.”

Up until now, Skoda owners were faced with a choice of two different apps to access data from their vehicles. The Skoda Connect app, for example, provided online services such as remote locking or unlocking of the doors, or displaying the current position of the parked vehicle. In addition, users were able to take advantage of Honk & Flash functionality to locate their vehicle more easily in a large car park, activate the auxiliary heating, or arrange an appointment with their service partner. All they had to do was activate the Skoda Connect services.

Using the Skoda OneApp on the other hand required SmartLink+ technology in the vehicle and a direct connection with a smartphone. The app used MirrorLink or Apple CarPlay to access real-time vehicle data, showing these on the car’s central display through a variety of screens, using playful elements. Features such as real-time driving data or a logbook, planning trips and information about the current vehicle status were offered by both apps in a similar fashion.

Alain Favey, Skoda Auto board member for sales and marketing, says: “We’re constantly working to improve the user experience of our digital applications, such as the smartphone apps. The updated Skoda Connect app combines the functions of our previous Connect app and the Skoda One App in a single, tidy solution. As a result, we are becoming ever more user-friendly and ‘Simply Clever’. Our plans for the future envisage a unified and easy-to-understand way of accessing all ŠKODA channels such as the website, apps and more. We are absolutely committed to this.”