Vehicle information providing apparatus, vehicle information providing system, vehicle information providing method, computer program, and computer readable storage medium

A vehicle information providing apparatus comprising:

• information acquisition means for accessing a storage device and acquiring information associated with progress status of a plurality of vehicles before shipping, which information is stored in the storage device;
• and
• information providing means for controlling said information acquisition means to refer to the storage device using, as a key, identification information which is acquired from an information terminal that is connected via a communication line to allow two-way communications, and specifies a user of the information terminal or a vehicle so as to acquire information associated with progress status of a specific vehicle corresponding to the identification information, and for providing the acquired information to the information terminal from which the identification information was output.

A vehicle information providing method which uses an information providing apparatus that belongs to a vehicle manufacturer, and an information terminal possessed by a user, which can make two-way communications via a communication line, comprising:

• a communication access step of setting a two-way communication state by outputting identification information, which specifies a user of the information terminal or a vehicle from the information terminal to said information providing apparatus via the communication line;
• an information providing step of acquiring information associated with progress status of a specific vehicle corresponding to the identification information received in the communication access step from the information associated with a plurality of vehicles before shipping, which information is stored in a storage function, in accordance with the identification information, and providing the acquired information to the information terminal from which the identification information was output, and
• an information informing step of acquiring the information associated with progress status of the specific vehicle from said information providing apparatus, and informing the user of the acquired information using the information terminal.

A computer program instructing a computer to operate as a vehicle information providing apparatus comprising:

• information acquisition function for accessing a storage device and acquiring information associated with progress status of a plurality of vehicles before shipping, which information is stored in the storage device;
• and
• information providing function for, via said information acquisition function to refer to the storage device by using an identification information as a key, acquiring information associated with progress status of a specific vehicle corresponding to the identification information, the identification information which is acquired from an information terminal that is connected via a communication line to allow two-way communications and specifies a user of the information terminal or a vehicle, and for providing the acquired information to the information terminal from which the identification information was output.

A computer program instructing a computer to implement a vehicle information providing method comprising:

• a communication access step of setting a two-way communication state by outputting an identification information, which specifies a user of an information terminal or a vehicle from the information terminal possessed by the user to an information providing apparatus that belongs to a vehicle manufacturer, which can make two-way communications via a communication line;
• an information providing step of acquiring information associated with progress status of a specific vehicle corresponding to the identification information received in the communication access step from the information associated with a plurality of vehicles before shipping, which information is stored in a storage function, in accordance with the identification information, and providing the acquired information to the information terminal from which the identification information was output, and
• an information informing step of acquiring the information associated with progress status of the specific vehicle from said information providing apparatus, and informing the user of the acquired information using the information terminal.

A computer readable storage medium storing a program code for making a computer operate as a vehicle information providing apparatus comprising:

• information acquisition function for accessing a storage device and acquiring information associated with progress status of a plurality of vehicles before shipping, which information is stored in the storage device;
• and
• information providing function for, via said information acquisition function to refer to the storage device by using an identification information as a key, acquiring information associated with progress status of a specific vehicle corresponding to the identification information, the identification information which is acquired from an information terminal that is connected via a communication line to allow two-way communications and specifies a user of the information terminal or a vehicle, and for providing the acquired information to the information terminal from which the identification information was output.