LAS VEGAS: Technology companies transformed smartphones and televisions into continuous fountains of revenue. Now, big tech wants to work with automakers to do the same thing for your car.
“It’s absolutely huge,” General Motors Co President Mark Reuss said in December of the opportunities to generate revenue after a vehicle is sold by providing streamed services and over-the-air upgrades facilitated by GM's new high-capacity onboard electrical system. Chinese carmaker Byton's new M-Byte sedan features a 48-inch screen as a dashboard, as well as a steering-wheel display and a digital tablet for passengers. When parked, the car can be an office, enabling video conference calls, or a roadside cinema.
The current crazy quilt of vehicle processors “is not cost effective, and it's hard to get developed and launched so that everything works all the time,” said Glen De Vos, chief technology officer of auto supplier Aptiv Plc . Aptiv's solution: A new Smart Vehicle Architecture that consolidates most computerized functions.