GM Tops in Telematics Patents

General Motors Co. received 228 worldwide patents for telematics-related technologies from 2009 to 2013, according to Thomson Reuters.

The data research group says GM's telematics total was nearly three times that of Hyundai, which was the next most prolific company in this area with 78 patents during the five-year period. It was followed by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Marvel Technology Group (48), LG (44) and Denso (41). Overall, there were 600 telematics patents during 2009-2013, a sixfold increase from the previous five-year period.

GM's lead is even more pronounced for telematics systems in the U.S. The carmaker accounted for a full one-third of all such patents in the country from 2009 to February 2015, according to Thomson Reuters' data. Paris-based Safran SA was second with nearly 10% of the total, followed by Ford (8%) and Robert Bosch (7%).

GM also has surged in recent years regarding patents for self-driving technologies. It quadrupled the number of autonomous-driving patents it received in 2013, taking the lead for that year from longtime leader Toyota. Toyota, which had been the top telematics patent recipient every year since 2009, has a commanding lead for the five-year period with 73.

Industrywide the number of autonomous driving patents rocketed from 73 in 2009 to 510 in 2013. But no individual company has received 25 or more such patents in a single year. Google had the most in the U.S. patents, accounting for about 22% of the total during 2009-2013.