Amazon soon in Opel and Peugeot: "Alexa, pay the fuel bill"
Created: 01/06/2022, 11:37 AM
From: Marcus Efler
Online retailer Amazon will in future be supplying software for Stellantis Group's cars.
The loser of the deal is Apple - and an electric car startup that was still highly traded.
Las Vegas (USA) - Powerful engines, chic designs, luxurious fittings: What used to count at classic auto shows is of less and less interest.
This is already shown by the fact that the world's most important exhibition for high-tech goods, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, has also become an important stage for car manufacturers.
(Mercedes Vision EQXX: electric study promises extreme range)
Amazon soon in Opel and Peugeot - these are the losers in the tech deal
This also applies again for this year, as the CES is at least partially taking place live and on site again, after it only took place virtually in 2021 due to the corona. The real sensations, however, take place away from the shiny bodies on the exhibition stands - such as the announcement of a partnership between Amazon and the automotive company Stellantis.
The online retailer, who is also an important player in terms of artificial intelligence and cloud services, will in future provide the technical basis for the infotainment system in the models of the French-Italian group, as reported by 24auto.de.
The 14 car brands, which also include Opel, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat and Jeep, will not only have a uniform operating system from 2024, but also a first-class cloud connection.
(Car with holodeck: this is how the windshield becomes giant AR glasses)
Amazon goes under the auto supplier.
(Symbol picture) © Robert Schmiegel / Imago
Amazon soon in Opel and Peugeot: The online retailer on Google's footsteps
In the future, car occupants will be able to navigate, search for music, shop and also pay by voice using Alexa.
The car will become a “personalized living space”, enthused the bosses of the two dissimilar partners when they presented the cooperation.
It is reminiscent of the strategy of another Internet giant to take control of the car: With Android Automotive, Google is already supplying Volvo and other manufacturers with the operating system for navigation systems and the like.
Other tech companies, on the other hand, seem to have been left behind: Microsoft used to equip Fiat and Jeep models with a special Windows version, but the software giant no longer has much to report in the automotive sector.
(Apple iCar: New rumor about electric cars - is the start date set?)
Amazon soon in Opel and Peugeot: Apple and Rivian are the losers
Apple's strategy of controlling more functions in the car via the iPhone and CarPlay also appears to be rather defensive in view of the powerful offensives by Amazon and Google.
And the new partnership has another clear loser: the electric car startup Rivian, of which Amazon is one of the investors.
After the announcement of its fraternization with the traditional carmaker Stellantis, the share price of the manufacturer of battery pick-ups slipped further.
* 24auto.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA