Zubie Expands Technology To Brazil

Sullivan's Island-based Zubie has expanded into an international market for the second time this month.

Zubie recently announced at Futurecom 2014 in Sao Paulo that its connected-car technology will be sold in Brazil. The local tech firm also recently expanded sales to Germany.

Zubie has partnered with Telefonica, a Madrid-based global telecommunications company, to sells its technology internationally under various Telefonica brands.

Zubie will be sold as an O2 Car Connection product in Germany and is available to German customers this month, and under the Vivo brand in Brazil. It will be available to Brazilian customers in mid-2015.

Through the Zubie key that plugs into a user's car, Zubie app users can see real-time driving data, such as vehicle maintenance needs, engine diagnostics and fuel cost calculations, as well as the location of other people who are connected to the user on the app.

Zubie CEO Tim Kelly hopes to expand throughout Europe, South America and Asia. He plans to eventually hire or move some employees overseas to support these partnerships.

"We are delighted to continue our international expansion with our global partner Telefonica," Kelly said. "The Brazil market opportunity for connected-car solutions is robust, and the combination of the local strength of Vivo along with Zubie's cloud-based data, apps and car device solution will be very powerful in Brazil."