Volvo Cars has announced a partnership with Google to develop the next generation of its in-car infotainment and connectivity solution based on Android, offering access to a wide array of apps and services.
The large catalogue of popular Android apps – developed by Google, Volvo, or third party app developers – will offer connected and predictive services in and around the car. The solution is slated to launch on new Volvo models within two years.
Henrik Green, senior vice president of Research & Development at Volvo Car Group, said Volvo’s partnership with Google reflects the ongoing convergence between the automotive and technology industries as cars become increasingly connected, while using Android as the base operating system will increase speed and flexibility in the development and offer its customers the ability to personalize the connected in-car experience.
“We are making an important strategic step with the Google partnership,” said Green. “Google’s platform and services will enhance the user experience by enabling more personalization possibilities, while Android will offer increased flexibility from a development perspective.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Volvo to bring Android into their next generation connected cars,” said Patrick Brady, VP of Android engineering at Google. “This partnership gives us the opportunity to deliver a more seamless experience to Volvo drivers through a full-featured infotainment platform and rich ecosystem of Android applications and Google services.”
Volvo is also collaborating with Google on another initiative to update recent models by adding Google Local Search, a location-based service application. This will be released through an update to customers with Sensus Navigation.
Further details on the partnership and Android OS will be announced at Google’s annual tech show, Google I/O on May 17.
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