GM Gambles on In-House Tech Over Apple and Google Apps

Last month, General Motors tapped Google to help create electric vehicle infotainment systems.

Google, but not the company’s Android Auto, or Apple’s CarPlay.

This decision, the focus of a Sunday (April 16) Wall Street Journal report, is one that surprised the auto industry and marks the latest skirmish in an ongoing battle between carmakers and the tech world over digital offerings in automobiles.

The report cites industry analysts and car dealers who say the move is a gamble, as it could alienate fans of CarPlay who use the app for navigation, to listen to music and other tasks.

GM argues its new software will provide drivers with a personalized experience, with offerings CarPlay and Android Auto can’t provide.

“It is up to us to create that and ultimately convince customers that it can be better across the board,” GM finance chief Paul Jacobson told the WSJ.

Meanwhile, some rival auto executives say they have no plans to do away with CarPlay and Android Auto in their vehicles, even as they acknowledged an intensifying competition between tech and auto companies for consumer attention.

“We want people to be in our ecosystem,” said Mike Colleran, head of Nissan Motor Co.’s U.S. marketing and sales. “That is where the battle is going to be.”

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, GM’s move marks an acceleration of the company’s goal to make its vehicles a platform for digital subscription services. The aim is to focus on connecting in-vehicle infotainment and navigation with features such as assisted driving.

“We have a lot of new driver assistance features coming that are more tightly coupled with navigation,” Mike Hichme, GM’s executive director of digital cockpit experience, said in an interview with Reuters in late March. “We don’t want to design these features in a way that are dependent on the person having a cellphone.”

Google’s partnership with GM is one of several the tech giant has forged with carmakers in the last year. In February, Mercedes-Benz announced it has formed a long-term strategic arrangement with Google that has its roots in navigation and entertainment.

The companies will begin by giving Mercedes-Benz customers access to Google’s Place Details function, which provides information about more than 200 million businesses, including business hours, photos, ratings and reviews, around the world.

As PYMNTS said at the time, this latest initiative — the enhanced customer experience — “is one that we note evolves when entertainment, real-time navigation and yes, commerce are woven together.”