The rest of the industry still like to use apps like CarPlay

GM, Volvo, Honda and Hyundai aren’t pursuing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on their future EVs unless they’re forced to play ball

Ultimately, however, this is about control. Whether drivers want it or not — and I suspect a great many do not — this next generation of cars will be about consumer data and subscription features as much as they’ll be about instant electric torque and eliminating carbon emissions. The auto industry wants to make a lot of money from data and subscriptions. GM alone hopes to grow its subscription revenue more than tenfold to $25 billion per year by 2030. Why would any automaker want to cut Apple in on that or be forced to play ball with its software? The features aren’t charged by Apple or Google and owners don’t have to subscribe to them.

“Talk to anyone that’s been in a vehicle with this feature and they’re often instantly sold on having to have it,” DeGraff said. “I hear constant chatter about it, and to give you even more proof of how desirable Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are, consumers with older vehicles are now upgrading their factory (DIN) head units with aftermarket replacement touchscreens that offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.” How many people remember the other ignities on the market?

Volvo responded to Apple’s announcement of a deeper integration into their automobile’s system by forwarding a post from the CEO of the company 10 months ago.

Honda, which is also adopting Google’s built-in software integration for the next Accord, said it has no plans to do so at the expense of CarPlay and Android Auto.

Hyundai, which also owns a stake in Kia, said it has “no plans to stop offering AppleCar Play and Android Auto on its vehicles, including EVs,” said spokesperson Miles Johnson.

Why Should GM, VW, and Ultra Cruise Be Done? The Impact of Ultifi on the Car and Driver, and Other Automotive Tech Companies

That was an utter disaster. Reviewers panned CUE for its unresponsiveness, bizarre menu layout and lag. When I was editor in-chief of Jalopnik, we called the CUE system the most hated in the industry, because Car and Driver likened it to a sexually transmitted infection. It received numerous upgrades, though the damage was done. Cadillac has no branding, but it still has a black mark.

DeGraff said that in a recent trend study from his firm, the desire for those smartphone systems was topped only by requests for more USB-C outlets in cars.

But there are many reasons this move is happening, and all are symbolic of the headaches that will ensue as car companies attempt to transform into tech companies in the EV era.

Ultifi is essentially your smartphone’s OS but in car form. It will be used in GM’s next-gen EV and ICE vehicles but is more important for the latter. With EVs essentially being software-driven batteries on wheels, Ultifi will allow for over-the-air updates, more advanced automated driving assistance, connected car capabilities, and native versions of popular apps like Google Maps and Spotify. (It will also enable less palatable features, like data collection and subscription-only features. More on this later.

Many companies are doing the same thing. Volkswagen has had many challenges when it comes to software, and it is trying to get a unified architecture for all of its brands that includes a native app store. So if cars are going to be defined by software and the user experience in a few years, it’s understandable why GM, VW, and others don’t want to cede that experience to third-party tech companies.

Some of the decisions are related to maps and automated driving. Edmunds posited that a native navigation system may work better with Super Cruise or its more advanced lidar-powered upcoming sibling, Ultra Cruise. Additionally, Mike Hichme, the executive director of digital cockpit experience at GM, told Reuters that it doesn’t want to design features that could leave out people who don’t own a cellphone.

Who buys an expensive, high-tech vehicle that costs more than $65K if you don’t own a phone? I’d love to talk to that person if they exist. Send me an email if you are that person. In your case, send a fax to our office in New York. I’ll swing by and pick it up when I have time.)

“From a business perspective, having more control over what happens within your vehicles is extremely valuable for both vehicle development as well as the opportunities presented by capturing and repackaging data for analysis and marketing,” Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insights, told The Verge.

“That said, GM is picking a battle with what is arguably one of the most culturally relevant and influential consumer brands in history, specifically the one that most would credit with creating the touchscreen obsession that automakers are currently leaning into,” he added.

Customer preference are what they are now. And years of dealing with frustrations from systems like CUE, which became exponentially outclassed by the smartphone experience (and then CarPlay) as each year went on, have added up.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/4/23669523/gm-apple-carplay-android-auto-ev-restrict-access

GM is Not a CUE: What is going on in Mr. Drury’s comments on the $Memory$ decision?

Drury said he feels it’s unlikely GM will change its mind on this decision, despite the backlash, but he warned that whatever the company has up its sleeve had better be world-class — not another CUE.

“While GM is unlikely to fully reverse course, one would expect their replacement app to be up to snuff and that any initial reactions of dismay from Apple owners are signs of minor annoyance rather than an outright refusal to purchase vehicles from The General,” Drury said, using a nickname for GM.