DETROIT -

General Motors, though its venture capital arm, GM Ventures, has invested an undisclosed amount in UVeye, an advanced vehicle inspection systems developer.
The companies also entered a commercial agreement to explore placing the inspection system in GM dealerships throughout various markets and a strategic collaboration agreement which calls for the two to work on several vehicle-inspection technology projects.

UVeye uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and high-definition camera technology to spot things such as worn tires, underbody damage and exterior scratches, defects and other imperfections or irregularities, when a vehicle is driven through its system.

David Marsh, GM executive director, customer care and aftersales sales & marketing, North America, called the technology “a game changer” because it creates standardized, inspections in seconds that can be repeated.

He also believes that GM dealers will voluntarily embrace the technology for use in their dealership operations once they fully understand its benefits.

‘A game changer’

“I think that’s where you’re going to see a game changing effort across the service lane experience and by the time we’re done, across the dealership, front-end all the way to the back-end,” Marsh said, during a June 22 the press conference in Detroit.

About a dozen early adopter GM dealerships are currently using UVeye technology they learned about primarily, by word-of-mouth. He expects that chatter among dealers about the product to continue.

“And another six have raised their hand and we haven’t even talked about it yet,” he said. “But we will get more into formal communication now that we have our collaboration set up.”

Said Amir Hever, UVeye CEO and co-founder, who also attended the press conference: “After they drive through the system within 20 to 30 seconds we can generate a full condition report of the vehicle.”

Critical mass in a relatively short period

Marsh said he expects to build “critical mass in a relatively short period of time” among GM dealers using the inspection technology but declined to say how many of GM’s 4,100 dealers would be considered critical mass or in what time frame.

“I can’t get into too much more detail, because we’re so early in how much equipment we’ll be able to get,” Marsh said. “So what we want to be able to do is get enough dealers up and running so we can continue test-learn, test-learn and we can continue to tweak and work together with UVeye to make sure we have the best possible solution.”

GM Ventures invests in startup companies that share GM’s enterprise vision of an all-electric, hands-free and more seamlessly connected future, and are helping position the automaker as a leading transportation technology enterprise, GM said in a statement.

Many dealership applications

During the June presentation the inspection system was showcased for use in service departments as a way to quickly spot and document problems or potential problems in a report that can be shown to consumers who bring their vehicles in for service, but it has other dealership applications, too, Marsh said. For example, the system can be used to inspect new vehicles delivered to dealerships for damage that can occur during transit, he said.

“Dealers have lots of solutions,” Marsh said. “The big thing is for them to take a look at what’s available and let what they see speak for itself.”

The technology is available to all GM dealers, but not a requirement, Marsh said.

Those dealers that do choose to use it will pay “a few thousand dollars” per month, to UVeye, Hever said.

“Some of the dealers have been on it for 90 days, some a little longer,” Marsh said. “We have a couple of dealers I’ve been able to talk to and the real cool thing about it was hearing what their customers were saying about it.

“Customers drive slowly into the system and in a matter of seconds of driving through, it tabulates all of the information from scanning the vehicle and pre-populates a report and can show the images to the customer for what was identified.”

3 UVeye systems

Under the partnership, GM dealers have access to UVeye’s three high-speed, drive-through systems which can work together as a single platform or as separate products.

Helios, is its underbody scanner that checks for problems such as frame damage, fluid leaks and missing parts; Artemis, monitors tire safety and measures tread depth and Atlas, is a 360-degree detection system that looks for problems with vehicle exteriors and bumpers, and components such as door-locks, grilles and windows.

The systems “can all work as a single platform, together, or they  can work as individual products, based on our customer’s need,” Hever said.
The strategic collaboration agreement calls for UVeye and GM to work on a number of vehicle-inspection technology projects involving dealership sales, used-car auctions and fleet operations. In the future, UVeye plans to incorporate electric vehicles and self-driving platforms into its inspection databases.

Other investors

Companies, such as Hyundai, Toyota and Volvo, also have invested in the six-year-old, Israeli-based start-up.

Hever said his technology is being used by several players in the auto industry including about 100 new-car dealerships.

“Dealerships, used car market places, auction sites, insurance companies, commercial fleets,” Hever said. “They all need the same thing: to understand in an efficient, accurate way, the condition of the vehicle. And today, most of them rely on manual inspections.”