A little over a year ago, Ford’s cross-town rival, General Motors, announced that it would be ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity in its future EV models, instead opting to go with its own infotainment system developed in partnership with Google. This news came as a bit of a shock to many, and also prompted Ford CEO Jim Farley to announce that The Blue Oval wouldn’t be following suit, even as it just launched its own Google-based software. Now, a recent survey indicates that Ford is making the right call, it seems.
The most recent version of the Mobility Consumer Pulse survey – conducted by McKinsey & Co. – found that among 30,000 consumers in 15 countries, 30 percent of EV shoppers and 35 percent of ICE owners won’t buy a car that isn’t compatible with smartphone applications like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, according to Automotive News. In the U.S., those numbers were similar at 25 percent of EV buyers and 38 percent of ICE shoppers.
With around 90 percent of new vehicles touting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, automakers like GM face a rather large uphill battle when convincing shoppers that a native interface is superior. In fact, this same study found that just 35 percent of shoppers would be willing to switch to a native system, and 52 percent said they would only use their smartphone. In the U.S., those numbers came in at 28 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Additionally, 10 percent of global customers and 14 percent of those in the U.S. said they would switch to another brand if they lost smartphone integration.
Regardless, GM remains adamant that it’s making the right move here, with vice president of software Scott Miller noting that customers are looking for a better alternative, and that the automaker believes people can be weened off of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if they’re presented with a superior experience. Meanwhile, another recent survey found that most people prefer these third-party applications over OEM ones, and Ford continues to expand its compatibility in that regard, as is also the case with Apple in particular.
We’ll have more on the future of smartphone integration soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
I have a Samsung Android phone since 2011 but I don’t need Android Auto to drive my cars. None of my cars have either Android Auto or Apple Carplay.
Many of these automaker fail to recognize two things: 1) Most people would prefer mirroring an existing device in their collection, as opposed to adding and syncing yet another device to all of their accounts. The phone mirroring solution brings all your apps, settings and data almost immediately to whatever vehicle dashboard you connect it to.
2) Automotive maker UI’s have largely sucked, enough that even if an automaker produces a respectable dashboard product, the track record is so dismal that it would take a lot to overcome that sigma. Even so, that custom UI is only found within that brand. It doesn’t roam between manufacturers, so users can’t get the same consistency moving between vehicles.
Car people should build cars. Software people should code software.
I don’t get what is wrong with Sync 4? Google Maps UI is far less functional than Sync 4. AA doesn’t integrate with HUDs and Digital Dashes as seamlessly as Sync 4. The graphics look cheap in AA.
I love our Sync 4 system, and all of these Android Automotive based implementations are horrendously bad.