Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Google are partnering to embed the Android operating system in vehicles sold by the alliance, providing infotainment and applications across multiple models and brands, scheduled to start in 2021.
Vehicles sold by Alliance members in many markets will provide turn-by-turn navigation with Google Maps, access to an 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.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Alliance will integrate Google applications and services into infotainment and cloud-based systems.
While a range of Alliance vehicles will share the Android platform, each brand will have flexibility to create a customer interface and specific features on top of the common Android platform.
The infotainment partnership forms part of moves to equip more vehicles with connectivity and cloud-based services as part of the Alliance’s 2022 mid-term plan. With the plan, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is targeting increased sales of more than 14m units a year by the end of 2022.
The initiative also involves the launch of 12 new zero-emission electric vehicles, new autonomous-driving technologies and the ongoing roll-out of the Alliance Intelligent Cloud.
The Alliance Intelligent Cloud 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 Alliance member-company vehicles.
The system will also be compatible with devices running other operating systems, such as Apple iOS.
“Our partnership with Google will offer owners of our vehicles user experiences that are currently available only outside the vehicle or, to a limited extent, by connecting an Android device to supported vehicles,” said Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Business Development SVP, Hadi Zablit.
“We are building powerful connected and on-board/off-board experiences into our vehicles in addition to the features of Google applications and services that many users are accustomed to, including Google Maps, the Google Assistant and the Google Play Store.”
For his part, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Connected Vehicles global vice president, Kal Mos added: “With the integration of the Android platform into our infotainment systems, we are adding a new level of intelligence to our connected vehicles.
“In the future, the Google Assistant, which employs Google’s AI technology, can become the main way customers interact with their vehicles, hands-free. With Google Maps and the Google Assistant embedded in Alliance infotainment systems, our customers will have some of the most advanced AI based applications at their fingertips.
“And with in-vehicle access to the Google Play Store, our customers will enjoy an open and secure ecosystem of Android apps engineered for vehicles.”
