An Israeli start-up, Engie, has developed a system that not only diagnoses car troubles, but also recommends the least expensive repairs, according to a report yesterday on the Israeli financial website Globes.
The company’s product has two parts – a device that attaches to a vehicle’s on-board computer (OBC) and has a Bluetooth component, which transmits information to the second part – the mobile app. The app analyzes the data received from the OBC and displays it to the user with simple graphics.
In this way, the app can check whether the engine oil pressure is correct, check battery status, display average fuel consumption, and also check other vehicle systems such as problems in the alternator, the immobilizer, safety systems, gear shift, and so on. The analysis is carried out by an Android app (an iOS version is expected later on), which is currently at the beta stage. In addition, after mileage and vehicle model have been set, the app notifies the user when an annual service is due, and informs users of the routine maintenance that will need to be carried out, including average prices of spare parts.
The app also conducts a price comparison between different garages. Currently Engie has ten participating garages in the Tel Aviv area, but plans to expand throughout the whole metropolitan area.
After the app is registered at the company’s website, the device is sent to the user with instructions for installation. There is no cost for the app or the device. Engie’s business model is based on “the company taking a commission on referrals of customers to garages.”
Globes also offers a brief profile of Engie’s founders:
Engie was founded by three graduates of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya: Gross, Gal Aharon, and Alon Hendelman. The company has raised tens of thousands of dollars thus far from Uri Levine, who is also chairman of the board. Levine is one of the founders of Waze, and was chairman of the board there as well.
Last year, Google bought Waze, another automotive-related Israeli startup, for $1.3 billion.
[Photo: EricTheCarGuy / YouTube ]