French-Japanese automotive group to embrace Android ecosystem
Under the technology partnership, vehicles sold by the Alliance members in many markets will utilize the Android operating system. In this context they will provide turn-by-turn navigation with Google Maps, access to the ecosystem of automotive apps on the Google Play Store and have the ability to answer calls and texts, control media, find information, and manage vehicle functions with voice using the built-in Google Assistant.
The Alliance, whose member companies last year sold 10.6 million vehicles worldwide, plan to integrate Google applications and services into infotainment and cloud-based systems to enhance the experience for customers of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors brands. While a range of Alliance vehicles will share the Android platform, each brand will have flexibility to create a unique customer interface and specific features on top of the common Android platform.
The infotainment partnership forms part of Alliance moves to equip more vehicles with connectivity and cloud-based services as part of its Alliance 2022 mid-term plan. Under the plan, the OEM group is targeting increased sales of more than 14 million units a year by the end of 2022.
The plan also involves the launch of 12 new electric vehicles, autonomous-driving technologies and the ongoing rollout of the Alliance Intelligent Cloud which will provide next-generation infotainment systems with secure connectivity by offering a platform to integrate data management, infotainment systems and to facilitate over-the- air upgrades and remote diagnostics in vehicles of the Alliance member companies. The combination of the Alliance’s and Google’s technologies will create the most intelligent infotainments in the automotive market, the group advertises. Drivers and passengers will be able to leverage Google and Android’s capabilities to access an ecosystem that includes thousands of existing applications and an ever-expanding array of new apps.
This integration, combined with the broad knowledge and a vibrant community of developers, will enable easy in-vehicle access to popular applications. The system will also be compatible with devices running other operating systems, such as Apple iOS.
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