Google heads to Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance dashboards
In some future models, Android software will control mapping and navigation, infotainment and a range of apps stalled directly into the car
Southfield — Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance are about to do what many car makers have been trying to avoid: let Google onto the dashboard. The French-Japanese car alliance announced a technology partnership that will make its vehicles among the first to use Google’s Android operating system on the dashboard, letting Alphabet’s software control mapping and navigation, infotainment and a suite of apps directly installed in the car. Most car makers allow Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay on the dashboard only by plugging in a smartphone and projecting a limited number of apps onto the vehicle’s touchscreen. Most car makers have tried to keep Google and Apple at arm’s length, hoping to keep control of such valuable data as a driver’s whereabouts, driving patterns, shopping preferences and infotainment use. Car makers have also sought to forge their own commercial partnerships to sell connected services, rather than let tech players such as Google cash in. "We’re merging our forces to...
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