Hyundai & Kia get Google Maps integration – but not in UK

Hyundai and Kia are adding Google Maps functionality to their SatNav Systems in the US, but it’s not coming to the UK any time soon.

In the US, Hyundai has a clever system called Blue Link (Kia has a similar system called UVO) that offers increased functionality for stuff like the SatNav, Remote Access, Location Sharing and Enhanced Recovery. It costs a few hundred dollars a year (for the all-singing, all-dancing version), but makes your Hyundai much smarter than the average bear.

Now, Hyundai (and Kia) are improving their Blue Link (and UVO) system with the addition of Google’s Map API offering Send2Car, POI search and Local Search by Voice, making the system even more valuable to drivers.

But none of this stuff is currently offered in the UK and, according to Hyundai, there are no plans to do so. So where does that leave the Hyundai driver in the UK who wants more more connectivity functionality?

As we reported last month, Hyundai are busy working to integrate the functionality of our Smartphones in to their cars, so it won’t be too long before your phone can log-on to your car and provide its functionality on the move, offering much (if not all, or even more) clever technology than the Blue Link System currently offers.

Hyundai’s UK buyers may be the poor relation when it comes to smart stuff in-car at the moment, but that will all change when the next generation of connectivity arrives in the next few years.