General Motors now offering OnStar service in the Middle East

General Motors has announced at GITEX 2019 that their OnStar in-vehicle safety and security system will be arriving to the Middle East next year. The membership-based service is claimed to be “one of the first of its kind in the region.”

OnStar has been around since 1996 in the United States. It is essentially a service where a 24/7 human OnStar advisor is ready to help at the press of an in-car button. It can be used to call a tow-truck, automatically report an accident, navigation help, ask for general diagnostics involving your car or even remotely lock and unlock your car. It is being done in partnership with Etisalat. It can also track your car if needed.

OnStar is a paid service though. The regional launch date, as well as pricing and package details, will be announced later.

Toyota has been offering a similar “concierge” service called T-Connect with every car they’ve sold since 2013, but it’s used via your smartphone and cannot detect accidents. It is also subcription-based and comes free for the first year. We received it with our purchased Toyota FJ Cruiser as well, but never activated it.