July 31, 2015
Customers reach out via phone, mobile app and through their vehicles
 
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:
 
  • 5.5 million Emergency Services delivered, including when Bernadette Holzer was driving her Chevrolet Equinox in Tionesta, Penn., triggering an Automatic Crash Response and OnStar’s Crisis Assist service helping Jacqueline Teeters avoid a tornado while driving from Houston to Dallas.
  • 156 million RemoteLink Mobile App requests, including Tysha Gill unlocking her car from her smartphone when her keys were locked inside.
  • More than 270 million Turn-by-Turn Navigation requests, including helping Diana Richard find a gas station late at night when she was traveling from Virginia to Ohio.
  • Delivered Roadside Assistance more than 3.9 million times, including bringing gas to Lixi Cacho who was stranded in a remote area
  • More than 800,000 Good Samaritan calls, including Tyler Andrews from Dallas being named OnStar’s “Good Samaritan of the Year” for helping an unresponsive motorist.
  • More than 390 million Vehicle Diagnostic reports delivered, including helping Debbie Yaeger and her 9-year-old daughter on a drive from Florida to Ohio.
  • More than 350 stolen vehicles slowed down. Mississippi State Senator Terry Burton used Stolen Vehicle Assistance to recover his stolen Chevrolet Impala.
OnStar has even helped deliver babies and works with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
 
Source
General Motors