In the fight for a bigger share of the domestic car market, Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have shifted to a new battlefield -- "telematics" informational network systems

Prompted by voice commands or input on display panels, telematics systems convey a variety of data, including traffic information, e-mail and access to emergency assistance.

Experts say telematics services are becoming an important feature in the highly competitive automobile market.

"There are few differences in terms of driving performance and fuel efficiency among competing models in most market segments," said Ryo Tazaki, an industrial analyst at Nomura Securities Co. "But telematics services can set some models apart from others."

Takeshi Imai, general manager at Honda's Internavi System Development and Planning Office, said effective telematics services can increase brand loyalty.

The three carmakers introduced first-generation telematics systems in 1998. But the systems failed to attract many drivers because they were limited to luxury models and subscription costs were considered high for the quality of content, according to experts.

Taking advantage of the growing popularity of car navigation systems and other wireless innovations, however, carmakers have now developed more sophisticated second-generation systems and installed them in more models, including subcompacts, to woo customers.

Nissan debuted its Carwings telematics service in March 2002 with the release of its remodeled March subcompact. Toyota followed with G-Book and Honda with Internavi Premium Club in October 2002.

A telematics system can cost about 300,000 yen to install. But subscribers subsequently only have to pay an annual membership fee of up to 5,000 yen plus dialup costs since all three systems utilize mobile phones to connect to telematics information centers.

The G-Book's built-in data-communications module, which can send data at a higher speed, costs 15,360 yen a year, including dial-up costs.

All three second-generation telematics services offer similar basics, including voice-activated systems that enable drivers to select routes, search functions and heads-up e-mail and news checking. But the carmakers are pursuing divergent strategies.

Nissan and Honda are focusing mainly on driving and car-related information.

"What drivers need most are accurate maps and real-time traffic information across the nation," Honda's Imai said. "We also want to build a firm relations with our customers by sending maintenance information to them through the terminal."

Imai said Honda's system offers an advanced navigation function that can give an estimated arrival time with a 10 percent margin of error for a drive of two hours or less.

Mitsuru Kameyama, senior manager at Nissan's Telematics Office, said his firm's Compasslink operator support service is popular with Nissan's 40,000 telematics subscribers.

This service allows drivers to contact a support center and ask operators for help ranging from routes to restaurants to emergency assistance. Kameyama said the support center received more than 500 calls a day in August.

Toyota has taken a different tack. In addition to providing basic car-related information, its G-Book service offers a wider range of entertainment options, including downloading games and karaoke songs, online shopping and pet-monitoring services.

Some experts question whether such a strategy will work.

"As various (entertainment) information can be obtained through mobile phones, I wonder if people want to pay for similar information on telematics devices," said an analyst who did not want to be identified.

But others believe providing a variety of services will be useful, especially in helping carmakers gather data on customer preferences.

"Information carmakers can obtain on drivers is usually limited to age and income," Nomura Securities' Tazaki said. "But Toyota may be able to obtain other information, such as customer preferences in designs and colors, by analyzing data obtained from the G-Book service and using it to develop new models."

But carmakers have a long and winding road ahead of them.

By the end of November, Honda had only 36,000 subscribers to its Internavi service, despite offering it on 10 models. Honda said only 30 percent to 40 percent of buyers subscribe to the service, slightly lower than the Nissan figure quoted by Kameyama. Toyota declined to disclose the number of G-Book subscribers.

The three automakers are aggressively trying to raise telematics subscriptions by offering the service on more vehicles and forming alliances with other carmakers.

By the end of December, Toyota increased the number of vehicle models equipped with G-Book to 50, roughly 80 percent of its lineup.

It also plans to supply the system to Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., which manufactures Subaru vehicles, next year, and to Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in 2005.

In October, Nissan began providing its telematics system to Suzuki Motor Corp. for use in the Wagon R.

Honda, which is shunning alliances for now, hopes to raise the number of Internavi subscribers to 200,000 by the end of March 2005 by installing the system in more models, company officials said.

"Competition can accelerate development of better telematics services," Kameyama of Nissan said. "We've got to accumulate experience in the next two to three years and upgrade our system by 2005 or 2006 by using advanced wireless communication technology."