Google joins Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group to put Android in millions of their cars
Google is to partner with the largest auto alliance in the world, by vehicle sales Renault -Nissan-Mitsubishi. This alliance sold more than 5.5 million vehicles combined in the first half of this year, putting it ahead of Volkswagen and Toyota Motor.
The Android-based infotainment systems is the alliance’s next-generation infotainment system and will launch in 2021.
With android functionality on board the vehicle, drivers will be able to access apps such as Google’s maps, the app store and voice assistant from their vehicle’s dashboards. The new partnership between Google and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is a huge step forward for Google’s ambitions to get its operating system into more cars.
Executives at the alliance decided on the partnership because many of their customers are accustomed to using Google Maps and other apps such as these.
This means that the regular motorist prefers to stick with the apps they are familiar with instead of using proprietary apps that a manufacturer could put in the vehicle.
Even the auto executives themselves are far more comfortable with Google, over anything that their own companies could develop for the vehicle. This is especially so since Google made their software open source in 2007. Kal Mos, the alliance’s vice president of connected vehicles told the media that “the trust was built in the last few years.”
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi has upped the ante on rival automakers because of their partnership with tech companies such as Google, instead of developing their own software ecosystems.
This partnership is certainly good for consumers, but it also means potentially ceding control over valuable user data to companies such as Google and Apple. Basically speaking, Google will have access to data collected from its in-car apps, but must ask for user permission first.
Some other car manufacturers that are already integrating Google apps into their vehicles include Volkswagen, which put Google Earth into Audi’s in-car navigation system, and Volvo Cars, which said its next in-car infotainment system will run on Android.
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