Ford-Toyota Connected Car System to Take On Apple, Google
Could the future RAV4 feature technology developed by a Toyota-Ford partnership?
It’s no secret that many drivers aren’t fans of automakers’ current offerings of infotainment systems. The technology is so new that it’s taken a few years for car companies to figure out exactly what they need to offer drivers and how to do it. It’s for this reason that tech giants Apple and Google recently decided to enter the dashboard technology game with CarPlay and Android Auto, respectively. But two automakers won’t just sit there and let Silicon Valley take over their territory—Ford and Toyota are teaming to introduce their own connected car system that should finally satisfy today’s technology-hungry drivers.
The two automakers will work together to streamline Ford’s SmartDeciveLink (SDL) technology, which is an open-source platform that allows drivers to integrate their smartphones with their vehicles via voice recognition, dashboard buttons, and display screens. Toyota has hinted that SDL technology might be available in upcoming Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
This SDL technology would let companies develop a single app for use across multiple in-vehicle infotainment systems. This would mean a lot less time and money for companies like Pandora and Spotify, and easier access to apps for drivers.
In the meantime, Toyota vehicles will begin to offer Apple CarPlay in its vehicles, although it’s staying away from Android Auto for now. And it looks like, in the future, Toyota might take on the connected car field all by itself.
News Source: Bloomberg
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