British telecom company Vodafone Group Plc. Said it's working with Germany's BMW on an embedded global SIM that enables cars to connect wirelessly to its global Machine-to-Machine (M2M) platform.

The special SIM will connect most of BMW's 2015 vehicles and will be first introduced in New Zealand.

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"We're delighted that the New Zealand market can experience this next level of mobile technology services from BMW." said Grant Hopkins, Director of Enterprise of Vodafone New Zealand.

"We believe we are on the cusp of some exciting future developments in the automotive M2M market."

Vodafone plans to use the SIM to power BMW's ConnectedDrive, a mobile technology platform that provides drivers with in-car digital services while sending vehicular information to the car-maker.

With the global SIM, the telecommunications company extends ConnectedDrive functionality to include BMW's online services, 24/7 concierge services and automatic emergency call function.

It will also enable drivers to perform remote locking and unlocking with the use of a smartphone app.

Vodafone said the SIM will be embedded directly into the vehicles during the assembly process. The SIM lasts more than 10 years and withstands severe weather conditions.

"Our network connectivity essentially transforms the vehicle dashboard into a sophisticated smart device, and delivers a driving experience that goes far beyond the conventional." said Hopkins.

TagsVodafone Group Plc, BMW, Germany, new zealand, Machine-to-Machine, m2m, IoT, ConnectedDrive, SIM