How the need to help daily drivers turned in to a global business

How the need to help daily drivers turned in to a global business

You’ve probably heard many successful business stories that started in a garage, such as Apple, Amazon, Google. This is probably the perfect place to replace proper office space for startups. It was a necessary workplace for creators of innovative automotive solutions – Voltas IT.

The company has been developing and perfecting its automotive diagnostic device called OBDeleven, helping daily drivers to save their time and money on vehicle diagnostics and customizations. Voltas IT story started when a team of two automotive engineers and a software developer gathered to solve the complexity and high cost of car diagnostics.

Best business opportunity – solve customer’s problems

After 10 years of work in authorized services, in 2014 Voltas IT founders established a car electronics repair shop. In order to serve their customers more conveniently, they figured out how to use Bluetooth wireless technology to “talk” to car’s control units via a smartphone instead of a diagnostic computer. This is how the OBDeleven was developed, making work not only more convenient but also faster.

“The need to develop such a solution was a natural course for us, as we simply wanted to make processes more efficient and reliable when adapting and retrofitting parts on second-hand cars. This small Bluetooth device allowed us to perform full diagnostics and activate new features, as well as adapt new vehicle parts or monitor car systems quickly and comfortably,” shared Edvardas Astrauskas, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Voltas IT.

 “While we exclusively used it at first, we later understood the value that it could bring to others as well, so we decided give it to our potential customer hands allowing them to do the work by themselves,” added Astrauskas.

The device has rapidly grown its popularity among car enthusiasts, who were recommending it to teach other on automotive forums and Youtube video reviews.  Together with product popularity, the company started growing rapidly also. As a result Voltas IT was rewarded as the fastest growing technology company in Central Europe 2019 at Deloitte Technology FAST 50.

Today OBDeleven already has more than 2 Million vehicle connected to it. Everyday a thousand new users downloads the application.

Offer an exceptional product

To be successful in the global market, it is not enough to offer a new product, it must be truly exceptional and bring value to the customers.

While a lot of scanners on the market offer simple diagnostics functions, OBDeleven in addition to easily accessible dealership-level diagnostics also offers pre-made coding functions – called One-Click Apps. They help users to enable or disable various features on their cars eliminating the need for advanced automotive knowledge and saving their time and money on vehicle customizations.

These pre-programmed functions act as a simple solution for those who have no time, interest, or even knowledge about coding within a vehicle and improve a car at a moment’s notice by enabling various hidden features, or disabling something that might annoy a driver, such as the Auto Start/Stop function.

Whether that would be retrofitting aftermarket parts, such as parking sensors, and cruise control, customizing the look of the car by changing light flickering, or the theme of the cockpit, or fine-tuning the performance by adjusting the electronic differential lock, everything can be done with One-Click Apps.

Another primary selling point of OBDeleven is that the device fits in a user’s pocket easily, meaning the functionality of professional software can be carried around everywhere.

“Developing the device which could replace bulky and complex equipment we had to face some challenges while combining the custom manufacturing design solutions and outstanding software functionality into a user-friendly and high-quality small gadget, “- added Astrauskas.

First generation of the product was manufactured in China and supported just Android devices and Volkswagen Group vehicles, as customer began requesting for more operational system support and more car brands to be added to the supported vehicle list, the Next generation OBDeleven was developed in Lithuania, following the highest manufacturing standarts and able to fulfill the more customer needs.

OBDeleven device was recognized as one of the leading designs at the “European Product Design Award” 2020 as well as has been granted Silver at A’ Design Award competition in Automotive Accessories.

Quality is a priority

In order to provide the best quality and access the latest manufacturers’ car data Voltas IT signed the official agreement with Volkswagen AG Worldwide and BMW North America.

“It was a long process and required a lot of documentation. But it was worth it. For example, when Volkswagen AG introduced new security changes restricting access to the newest models. We were able to receive these requirements from the manufacturers, and by fulfilling them OBDeleven became the first Third-party diagnostic tool that allows access to the latest Volkswagen Group models” – commented the CEO.

To maintain the innovative software, it is important not just to keep up-to the latest technology, but also to adapt to changing customer needs by continuously improving the product.

“Customers are our quality judges and valuable critics. Once we started getting a lot of requests and feedback from them, we decided to create an OBDeleven dedicated forum where more than 40 000 enthusiasts now discuss with each other and fills-out the product development requests, that we collect and try to fulfill accordingly to our possibilities,”- shares Astrauskas.

Keep everyone motivated

Happy customers are a result of a motivated team behind the product. Perhaps the secret of Voltas IT success is the fact that the three founders are always present in the automotive industry, working on cars throughout their careers. And even today, when the company has more than 70 employees, the founders are working on innovative automotive solutions together with the team.

“Our vision is to develop innovative automotive technologies and reveal the ultimate possibilities of the vehicle with an ambition to support all car brands and become #1 in the automotive software industry, that’s why it is a must to have official licenses and earn trust in the industry” shared Edvardas Astrauskas, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Voltas IT.

OBDeleven – YouTube

Link to company website: https://bit.ly/3XCJ1VS

Link to product website: https://bit.ly/3HcdfJZ

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